Shedeur Sanders will return as the Cleveland Browns‘ backup quarterback in Week 10.
Sanders was inactive in Week 8 due to a back injury, and during the bye week was rehabbing. To begin the week, Sanders didn’t practice, but after returning to the field, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed the rookie quarterback would be the backup to Dillon Gabriel in Week 10.
“#Browns Shedeur Sanders (back) will be the No. 2 on Sunday vs. the #Jets, Stefanski said,” Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot reported on X.
Sanders obviously showed enough in practice on Thursday and Friday to serve as the backup, as Bailey Zappe likely won’t have to get promoted to the 53-man roster.
Although Sanders is healthy enough to be the backup, Dillon Gabriel will remain the starting quarterback for the Browns.
Despite the offensive struggles, Stefanski has been adamant that Gabriel is playing well and will continue to ride him as the starter.
Cleveland goes on the road to play the New York Jets on Sunday in Week 10 NFL action. The Browns are 1.5-point favorites on the road.
Browns Make Change on Offense
Although Cleveland is remaining with Gabriel at quarterback, the Browns did make a significant change on offense.
Stefanski gave up play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who’s eager for the chance to call the offense. He also expects the passing game to improve and has some ideas on how Gabriel can have more success.
“Yeah, look, there’s a lot of areas there we need to improve, and in the passing game, like we said, from the jump, takes all 11,” Rees said on Thursday. “Certainly, we want to stress defenses in probably some ways that we have not yet been able to or not able to connect on. You know, feature the guys that we can lean on and make our quarterback feel comfortable.
“So, the bye weeks are always great. We needed the reset to kind of look at things, make sure that we’re doing the best things for our players, best things for our quarterbacks, and feel like we have a good plan moving forward.”
Rees plans to call the offense from the booth instead of the sidelines, as he believes it gives him the best vantage point on how to call the offense.
Sanders Was ‘Getting Ready’
During the bye week, Sanders claimed he wasn’t going back to Colorado as he wanted to stay in Cleveland.
Sanders claimed he had to get ready, which fueled speculation that he would be starting very soon.
“I’m not coming to CU homecoming, I can’t make it out there, I wish I could though. I just can’t happen, I got treatment out here. I gotta get ready, big ready,” Sanders said.
Ultimately, Sanders did go to Colorado for one day, but did enough rehab to be ready to serve as Gabriel’s backup in the Browns’ Week 10 road game.
Gabriel Knows he has to be Better
The Browns will continue with Gabriel as their starting quarterback, and he knows he has to be better.
Gabriel has had mixed results in the NFL, and after the bye week, the rookie is confident he will be able to improve.
“I think mentality-wise, you kind of come off a bye week trying to improve and look at where you could have been better, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and kind of look at both sides of those,” Gabriel said on Tuesday. “But definitely got to improve. And whether it’s a fresh start or just a new week, just keeping it one week at a time. That’s the mentality, and that’s all you got.”
Gabriel has thrown for 702 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions this season.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Browns Give Shedeur Sanders Great News Ahead of Week 10 appeared first on Heavy Sports.