The Cleveland Browns’ QB room is loaded.
With bodies, anyway.
And now comes Quarterback No 5 – and that’s what he is, whether his dad likes it or now – in freshly-drafted Shedeur Sanders.
A minute ago, Shedeur’s father, the iconic Deion Sanders, was telling the world his son was the best player in the whole NFL Draft.
Three days and five rounds later?
Deion did the kid a disservice.
And now, Shedeur – who will have a struggle just to make the final 53-man roster – is just maybe seeing the light.
He could someday be a player. Or he could be practice-squad-bound. Or he could get cut.
That might not be the way thinks work in SandersLand.
But this is the real world.
The Browns already had three veterans in Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett under contract. In the third round they drafted Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel. Saturday afternoon they finally ended Shedeur’s epic slide in the fifth round.
Understand the pecking order here: The Browns have already essentially announced that they like Gabriel more than they like Sanders.
Does Shedeur get it? Maybe.
He first noted, following the pick, “I know I’m going to fit in perfectly.”
That’s a weird thing to say. And he knows it’s not true, because there is nothing “perfect” about being a fifth-stringer.
But then Sanders added, “It’s first getting in, showing the respect to the vets, showing I’m ready to work, show the coaches and have them understand I’m here ready to work, so they can actually understand the real me. That’s what I’m truly thankful to have, is the opportunity for people to see the real me and not see stuff that could be true, or not.”
Bingo. That’s a sign, a good one, that the kid might just get it.
One NFL personnel man on Saturday morning told me that Shedeur was sliding for three reasons.
1- “Meddlesome dad.”
2 – “Entitled kid.”
3 – “OK talent.”
Shedeur now needs to overcome all of that. He also needs to overcome the likes of Pickett (who the Browns traded for in March) and Flacco, who recently signed on as a 40-year-old free agent.
A 17-year NFL veteran, led the Browns to their last playoff appearance in 2023 en route to being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Shedeur isn’t in the same ballpark as those guys.
Since high school, Sanders has been coached by his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Dallas Cowboys legend Deion. It will be a culture shock when Deion is not around the meeting rooms and the practices heaping praise on his son, who in a goofy and much-criticized gesture had his jersey retired by his dad at Colorado last weekend.
That was controversial. Too much around the self-proclaimed “Legendary” Shedeur is controversial.
But Sanders’ remarks here suggest a possible powerful change. Don’t be a brand. Don’t be controversial. Just be another football player, right there with 89 other guys, trying to fight for a job.
Related: Browns Draft Rumors On Shedeur Swirling After Massive Slide
The Cleveland Browns’ QB room is loaded.
With bodies, anyway.
And now comes Quarterback No 5 – and that’s what he is, whether his dad likes it or now – in freshly-drafted Shedeur Sanders.
A minute ago, Shedeur’s father, the iconic Deion Sanders, was telling the world his son was the best player in the whole NFL Draft.
Three days and five rounds later?
Deion did the kid a disservice.
And now, Shedeur – who will have a struggle just to make the final 53-man roster – is just maybe seeing the light.
He could someday be a player. Or he could be practice-squad-bound. Or he could get cut.
That might not be the way thinks work in SandersLand.
But this is the real world.
The Browns already had three veterans in Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett under contract. In the third round they drafted Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel. Saturday afternoon they finally ended Shedeur’s epic slide in the fifth round.
Understand the pecking order here: The Browns have already essentially announced that they like Gabriel more than they like Sanders.
Does Shedeur get it? Maybe.
He first noted, following the pick, “I know I’m going to fit in perfectly.”
That’s a weird thing to say. And he knows it’s not true, because there is nothing “perfect” about being a fifth-stringer.
But then Sanders added, “It’s first getting in, showing the respect to the vets, showing I’m ready to work, show the coaches and have them understand I’m here ready to work, so they can actually understand the real me. That’s what I’m truly thankful to have, is the opportunity for people to see the real me and not see stuff that could be true, or not.”
Bingo. That’s a sign, a good one, that the kid might just get it.
One NFL personnel man on Saturday morning told me that Shedeur was sliding for three reasons.
1- “Meddlesome dad.”
2 – “Entitled kid.”
3 – “OK talent.”
Shedeur now needs to overcome all of that. He also needs to overcome the likes of Pickett (who the Browns traded for in March) and Flacco, who recently signed on as a 40-year-old free agent.
A 17-year NFL veteran, led the Browns to their last playoff appearance in 2023 en route to being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Shedeur isn’t in the same ballpark as those guys.
Since high school, Sanders has been coached by his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Dallas Cowboys legend Deion. It will be a culture shock when Deion is not around the meeting rooms and the practices heaping praise on his son, who in a goofy and much-criticized gesture had his jersey retired by his dad at Colorado last weekend.
That was controversial. Too much around the self-proclaimed “Legendary” Shedeur is controversial.
But Sanders’ remarks here suggest a possible powerful change. Don’t be a brand. Don’t be controversial. Just be another football player, right there with 89 other guys, trying to fight for a job.
Related: Browns Draft Rumors On Shedeur Swirling After Massive Slide
