After months of anticipation, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders finally took the field on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
He got the nod to take over after Browns starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion and was ruled out for contest. Sanders took the field after halftime in place of Gabriel and took his first NFL snaps in a 23-16 loss to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.
It was a rough go for Sanders, who completed 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards, was sacked twice and threw one interception.
Sanders took responsibility for the loss after the game, but former NFL quarterback Cam Newton has his own thoughts on Sanders’ debut. The day after the matchup, Newton used the moment to reiterate a point he’s made about Sanders for months.
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I do not think Kevin Stefanski wants Shedeur Sanders to succeed in Cleveland,” Newton said on ESPN's “First Take” on Monday. “The reason being is, don’t tell me what he said, don’t tell me what he's saying. I’m going off of actions – alright? Let’s go off actions.”
“The actions is, if I’m Shedeur or if I’m a Shedeur Sanders fan, I would not want him to take the field, because that’s going to consistently be the display we're going to see,” Newton added.
Newton isn’t the only one to criticize Stefanski for not playing Sanders sooner, but he certainly is one of his loudest critics.
Other analysts have even speculated the way Stefanski has handled the Gabriel-Sanders situation Ould even cost him his job at the end of the season.
Newton also threw some shade at Cleveland’s front office for good measure.
“It doesn’t matter if it's Deshaun Watson, it doesn't matter if it's Shedeur Sanders, it doesn’t matter if it’s Dillon Gabriel, it doesn’t matter if it's Dan Orlovsky, it doesn’t matter if it’s Cam Newton,” he stated. “You need help in Cleveland. When you have a quarterback that's still making $46 million on your roster, and he’s not healthy, that impacts the talent that’s around him. They are not a good team.”
The Browns drafted Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft as the 144th overall pick. Now, after a rocky start and Gabriel struggling, Sanders, who’s been serving as the team’s No. 2 quarterback, is in line for his first start in Week 12.
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