Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns
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Shedeur Sanders throws a pass during Cleveland Browns mandatory minicamp.
The Cleveland Browns have been criticized for how they’ve handled Shedeur Sanders’ situation.
While Sanders is a decent player in his own regard, it’s also fair to question whether what the Browns are doing is that wrong. In the Browns’ scenario, Cleveland has to play the players it believes are the best. Sanders, whom the Browns drafted in the fifth round, might not be that.
However, for many reasons, some believe that Cleveland isn’t doing what it has to do, including college basketball legend Dick Vitale, who took to Twitter/X to speak about the situation with Sanders.
“I‘m rooting hard for @ShedeurSanders & any athlete that gets a raw deal. I hope he proves that he should have NEVER been a 5th round pick. Hope he becomes a success for the @browns who drafted him in the 5th round,”he published on X.
Browns Remain Under Fire
This isn’t the first time the Cleveland Browns have been questioned for their decisions. They were also asked about their moves on Saturday, when head coach Kevin Stefanski took out Sanders in a 2-minute drill to end the game. Many thought that Sanders deserved an opportunity to finish the game to show he can finish a drive.
“I don’t concern myself with outside types of things, but I’m committed to his development, just like all of our rookies,”Stefanski said, per Yahoo’s Joe Reedy. “We’ll continue to focus on getting our guys better, and that’s what we’ll stay committed to, and that’s what’s important to me.”
Sanders didn’t seem too happy about the decision, but Stefanski wasn’t worried about that, adding that he’s happy his players are competitive.
“I think all of our guys are extremely competitive and want to be out there for every play. So, I never want a player to be less competitive,” Stefanski said.
Cleveland Face More Drama
After the game, the Cleveland Browns rookie said he didn’t know he was out of the game and expected to play. He wasn’t happy, but as a rookie, there wasn’t much more that he could do.
“I didn’t know I was out,” Sanders said after the game. “Yeah, I didn’t know. I was on a bike, I was powering up. I was powering up for that two minute drive because that’s just a situation every quarterback dreams for. That’s many situations I’ve been in before, and I thought I was in, so then he told me I wasn’t in and I was like, ‘OK.'”
After that decision, Sanders took to Instagram on Sunday to thank everybody for the love and support in the preseason.
He added that he has a lot to learn, which the Cleveland Browns understand, but it’s good to see that he’s thankful for his time in the preseason and is trying to continue getting better.
“Thanks everyone for the [love] and support,”Sanders wrote in the caption. “There’s a lot to learn from this preseason, but I’m really thankful for the opportunity to be out there. Day by day, rep by rep, I’ll keep learning and getting better.”
It seems like the drama will only continue, which isn’t ideal, but it is much more played out than it might seem.