Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders might be down, but he’s not out.
Sanders sat out Saturday’s preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles after suffering an oblique injury during practice during the week. The Browns elected to play it safe with Sanders, holding him out of practice and the team’s second preseason tilt.
However, Sanders shared with the Browns broadcast announcers Chris Rose and Joe Thomas that he’ll be back soon.
“Ran into Shedeur at the hotel today. He said, ‘Don’t lose that energy. Don’t lose that passion. I’ll be back very soon,’” Rose said just prior to kickoff.
Sanders started the Browns’ first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The injury stymied any momentum Sanders had from that start in his effort to climb the depth chart.
“Felt it early, I think, warming up and then felt it throughout individuals, so took a look at it. You know, if it’s a right guard, you can play through that. When it’s a quarterback, you kind of need that muscle to throw,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of Sanders’ injury. “So unfortunately, going to put him down for a little bit here. We’ll treat it day to day and see how he responds. But want to be smart because he’s a thrower, so you can’t push that thing.”
Curiously, Sanders dressed for the matchup in full uniform despite not being expected to play. Veterans Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco — who were also ruled out — were on the sideline in street clothes.
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Unlikely to be Week 1 Starter
Even if Sanders remained healthy, it’s unlikely he would have won the starting job out of the gate. Flacco is the heavy favorite to be the starter when the season kicks off. Flacco has received most of the first-team reps.
And with all the other quarterbacks dealing with injuries at various points in training camp, he’s almost become the default for the Browns.
The Browns have yet to officially name a starter, but Flacco is not rushing the process.
“Kevin’s Kevin, man,” Flacco said this week, referring to Stefanski. “He’s the one in charge, and I’m not really looking into when he’s going to do things and why he’s going to do things. I’m just going out there and being myself and feel really confident about what I’ve been doing.”
Dillon Gabriel Has Mixed Browns’ Debut
Gabriel was perfect on his first drive, going 4-for-4 for 29 yards. That included three completions on third down to keep the drive alive. It concluded with Ahmani Marshall finding the end zone from four yards out.
In all, he completed 8-of-9 passes in the first quarter for 73 yards. After the touchdown drive, Sanders was on the sideline, cheering on his teammates.
The second quarter did not start as smoothly. Gabriel was picked off on his first pass of the second quarter, with Eagles second-round pick Andrew Mukuba taking it back 75 yards for a touchdown.
The Browns will wrap up their preseason schedule next week at home against the Los Angeles Rams.
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