One of the biggest guessing games this NFL season has been what might happen when the Cleveland Browns finally get desperate enough to play rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
We finally found out in Week 11, when starter and fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel was knocked out of the game with a concussion early in the third quarter.
The early results for Sanders weren’t pretty.
On the first play of his first offensive series, Sanders was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Ravens All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, who did Sanders’ trademark “Perfect Timing” celebration after the sack. That series ended with a punt.
Sanders’ second series ended with an interception by Baltimore cornerback Nate Wiggins. His third series ended with another sack — after Hamilton dropped a point-blank interception — and this time for a 14-yard loss on 3rd-and-6 deep in Cleveland territory.
Social Media Ablaze After Sanders’ NFL Debut
It didn’t take long for social media to go absolutely en fuego after Sanders’ much anticipated debut.
“It’s getting hard to defend Shedeur Sanders .. these sacks have been happening for 4 years,” Kalshi Sports’ I Am John W wrote on his official X account. “Throw the ball away.”
“Shedeur Sanders already washed 2 minutes into his career,” BrickCenter wrote on its official X account.
“Pound-for-pound, Shedeur Sanders is the most talented ‘keeps spinning backwards into 14-yard sacks’ prospect the NFL has ever seen,” NBC Sports NFL writer Patrick Daugherty wrote on X.
“Shedeur Sanders playing real NFL snaps is the worst thing to ever happen to Shedeur Sanders fans,” I Don’t Watch Film wrote on its official X account.
There were also plenty of jokes about how Sanders had reportedly turned down a chance to be drafted by the Ravens to be the backup for 2-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.
“Shedeur Sanders ended up completing passes for the Baltimore Ravens after all,” NFL Memes wrote on its official X account.
World Watched as Sanders’ Plummeted in Draft
Sanders was at the center of one of the craziest draft day stories of all time.
Projected as a first round pick after a record setting career playing at Jackson State and Colorado playing for his father and head coach, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Shedeur Sanders was projected as a first round pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
On draft day, things went off the rails. Sanders’ drop didn’t stop until the third day with the Browns, who landed him in the fifth round (No. 144 overall) after the Ravens unsuccessfully tried to add him to the roster. The Browns had already taken Gabriel in the third round.
“It’s disgusting, I don’t know what else to say about it,” ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said about Sanders going undrafted after the first 3 rounds. ” … There’s quarterbacks coming off the board who aren’t even close to what he is. I don’t get it.”
Behind the scenes, Sanders wasn’t as hot of a prospect after a disastrous pre-draft process.
“(Sanders) was worst formal interview I’ve ever been in in my life,” an anonymous NFL assistant told NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero on April 22. “He’s so entitled. He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates. … But the biggest thing is, he’s not that good.”
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