The Cleveland Browns fans boomed with approval as quarterback Shedeur Sanders entered an NFL game for the first time in the second half of the team’s Week 11 contest against the Baltimore Ravens, but the rookie didn’t give them much to cheer about after that.
Sanders finished the day 4-of-16 passing for 47 yards and an interception. He also rushed for 16 yards, took two sacks and fumbled once, though Cleveland recovered. Reporters asked Sanders during the postgame about his performance and the fan’s reaction to both him finally getting in a game and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel leaving due to a mandatory entrance into the league’s concussion protocol.
“When Dillon out there playing and all that, I appreciate the fans, I appreciate everybody. But I’m a good person overall, so I don’t really like him not feeling comfortable, confident when he get out there. So it puts everything in a tough spot, and it’s not helping the team,” Sanders said of fans’ previous booing of Gabriel during his struggles.
“So, that could be taken as, ‘OK, I’m being a distraction,’ even though I ain’t doing that, even though I’m not doing nothing,” Sanders continued. “But I’m thankful for the supporters, thankful for the fans, thankful for everybody out there that believes. And yeah, when I got out there, I definitely felt them, and I’m truly thankful for it. … Thankful seeing all them 12 jerseys out there, and it was a great feeling for that. But the feeling of losing, that ain’t nothing we going to get comfortable with on my watch, for sure.”
Shedeur Sanders Likely to Start Next Week Against Raiders
GettyQuarterback Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns.
Gabriel remains in concussion protocol and while it’s possible doctors could clear him ahead of the team’s Week 12 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders next weekend, it is likely that Sanders will get the first start of his career in the desert.
The Browns must practice this week as though Sanders is going to be the starter, as Gabriel’s status is uncertain. Because of that, the coaching staff is likely to tailor the game plan to Sanders’ strengths and finally afford him the first-team practice reps he’s been lacking since joining the franchise in the fifth round of April’s draft.
“Sanders is expected to start Sunday’s game vs. the Raiders in Las Vegas, and fourth-year pro Bailey Zappe will be the backup,” Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported Monday. “Sanders, who had his house broken into during Sunday’s 23-16 loss to the Ravens, will be the 42nd quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999, barring some unexpected occurrence.”
Dillon Gabriel Will Return to Starting Lineup When Healthy
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
However, head coach Kevin Stefanski was clear that Gabriel will get his starting job back from Sanders once he returns healthy.
The only way Sanders can avoid that fate is to play exceedingly well against the Raiders, who will be coming off a short week following their “Monday Night Football” matchup against the Dallas Cowboys and who went into the Dallas matchup with a 2-7 record.
Cleveland, now 2-8, was likely to insert Sanders into the starting lineup at some point late in the season to assess his abilities and the QB room as a whole before a 2026 draft, in which the team has two first-round picks. It is unclear if one and a half games will be enough information for the Browns where Sanders is concerned, should Gabriel return healthy following this weekend.
Suffice it to say, Cleveland’s upcoming game in Las Vegas is the most important of Sanders’ football career.
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