Shedeur Sanders made his debut on Sunday with the Cleveland Browns.
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Shedeur Sanders made his debut on Sunday with the Cleveland Browns.
A social media post from Deion Sanders on Sunday — shared just hours before Shedeur Sanders made his Cleveland Browns debut — has some wondering if Coach Prime knew what was coming.
Deion Sanders typically posts inspirational messages on social media, which he did on Sunday morning.
“Today will be a blessed, productive day!” Deion Sanders said.
It was a vague, general message, but it lined up almost perfectly with what unfolded on Sunday. Shedeur Sanders ended up taking the field in the Browns’ Week 11 matchup against the Ravens after Dillon Gabriel exited with a concussion.
Some fans were convinced Deion Sanders knew there was a chance Shedeur could make his NFL debut.
“He knew something we didn’t,” one fan commented.
“You called it!” another fan said.
Deion Sanders Was Confident Shedeur Sanders Would Play for Browns
Shedeur Sanders has endured a tough introduction to NFL life. After sliding to the fifth round of the draft, he’s had to fight his way up the depth chart in Cleveland and wait patiently for an opportunity.
But Deion Sanders has never wavered in his belief. Deion made it clear he expected his son to see the field for the Browns at some point this season, confident that Shedeur’s moment would come.
“Be patient and be ready,” Deion Sanders said on the “New Heights” podcast in September. “You got to be ready when it’s time. But when it’s time, you’re going to know. And it’s coming up. I got a prediction. I ain’t telling nobody. I got a feeling when it’s going to go down. But it’s going to go down this year. … He’s going to get a shot.”
According to multiple reports, the Sanders camp told the Baltimore Ravens not to draft Shedeur. Even with his slide in the draft, the goal was for Sanders to see the field early. That would not have been possible in Baltimore, where two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is entrenched as the starter.
“I played for Baltimore, so me and [former Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome] are cool,” Deion said. “We understood that whole conversation, and he wanted to talk to Shedeur as well as he wanted to talk to me. And I put Shedeur on the phone, and I don’t want to say how it went, but how in the world can somebody fault him for saying or thinking, ‘Why in the world would I go back up Lamar [Jackson] for 10 more years?’
“I’ve never sat on the bench and said, ‘Well, I learned a lot today.'”
Browns Face Decision on Dillon Gabriel Moving Forward
Ahead of Sunday’s matchup, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski did not want to discuss Sanders potentially taking over for Gabriel, who entered Sunday with a 1-4 record as the starter and miserable statistics.
“I don’t think it’s fair to speculate,” Stefanski said. “We’re committed to getting better as an offense. Dillon is certainly committed to improving every which way he can. And all the while, all of our players, young players, are developing and working so hard behind the scenes to make sure that they’re getting better on a daily basis.”
Now, the Browns can’t avoid the conversation. However, for most of the second half, Sanders didn’t fare much better than Gabriel. After completing his first two throws, he misfired on his next seven attempts, took multiple sacks and was flagged for intentional grounding.
The question now is whether the Browns will turn back to Gabriel if he’s healthy next week against the Las Vegas Raiders.