After several months of rumors and speculation regarding his role with the Cleveland Browns, Shedeur Sanders finally had the chance to set foot on an NFL floor. It came after fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel sustained a concussion against the Baltimore Ravens.
Sanders had his first first-team reps in the game, which raised many eyebrows around the league. The Browns couldn’t move past the Ravens and lost 23-16 at Huntington Bank Field. Sanders sat alone on the bench after the game was over, which didn’t sit well with a former coach.
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During Monday’s edition of ESPN’s “Get Up,” former NFL coach Rex Ryan questioned Sanders’ behavior after his team lost to the Ravens.
“Shedeur, he’s gotta get over himself too,” Ryan said, via Awful Announcing. “Like he’s there by himself on the bench (at the end of the game). I’ve never seen that. I’ve seen it in the seventh game of the World Series when you lose a game or whatever. This is a game — it’s a pillow fight game. Nobody cares.”
After insider Adam Schefter said that Sanders cared, Ryan continued to question what he cared about.
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“Did he care? Or are you trying to make it a show of making it about yourself?” Ryan continued. “You’ve got a guy over there that by the way is a two-time MVP, right there, Lamar Jackson. He was looking for you. Why don’t you share a moment with him? Alright. Share a moment with Lamar. He’s looking all over for you. Then get in there with your teammates. These are your teammates. And talking about, ‘I’m not comfortable losing.’ You think anyone in that locker room is? They better not be.”
It could be that Sanders wasn’t happy with his performance. The former Colorado Buffaloes star went 4 of 16 for 47 yards with one interception and two sacks.
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He didn’t mince words when assessing his performance.
“I don’t think I played good,” Sanders said. “I think there’s a lot of things we need to look at during the week and go and just get comfortable with even throwing routes with [wide receiver] Jerry [Jeudy] and throwing routes with all those guys.”
Sanders will have a whole week to prepare for his first start against the Las Vegas Raiders. The rookie quarterback wasn’t in the best position to shine against the Ravens, but things could change against another struggling franchise.
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