The Cleveland Browns had a chance to learn a great deal about rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders‘ during a two-minute drill against the Los Angeles Rams over the weekend.
That they decided instead to pull him from the game sent up red flags across the NFL.
Sanders took over for the Browns in the second half of a contest that Dillon Gabriel started, and in which he played well. QB1 Joe Flacco also took his first and only reps during a preseason game, completing 9-of-10 passes for 71 yards and a TD.
Sanders saw game action for the first time since he started the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers, in which he completed 14-of-23 pass attempts for 138 yards and 2 TDs. He was just 3-of-6 for 14 yards against the Rams on Saturday, August 23, and took five sacks for a total loss of 41 yards.
Los Angeles grabbed the lead with less than two minutes remaining, at which point head coach Kevin Stefanski pulled an unsuspecting Sanders from the game and put the ball in the hands of Tyler “Snoop” Huntley — a player the team brought in earlier this summer to handle practice reps while Gabriel and Kenny Pickett battled hamstring issues, and Sanders dealt with a sore shoulder.
Stefanski spoke to that decision in a rather nonchalant manner following the game.
“Yeah, obviously we didn’t play great as an offense in the second half. That’s never on one person,” Stefanski said. “So we can be better in a bunch of areas, and just felt like we wanted to give Snoop a last drive.”
A reporter asked a follow-up question regarding Sanders’ health and whether he was battling an injury.
“No,” Stefanski responded. “He’s good.”
Kevin Stefanski Tossed Away Last Chance to See Shedeur Sanders in Meaningful On-Field Scenarios
GettyHead coach Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns.
Stefanski’s decision to remove Sanders from the game at such a crucial point, and one which could have provided the team with meaningful information on the type of player they in the fifth-round QB, is a bad omen for Sanders’ future.
He was playing poorly. Cleveland could have found out how Sanders bounces back from a situation like that.
The Browns were facing a two-minute drill. They could have learned about Sanders’ nerve and his performance under pressure.
And yet Stefanski chose not to get meaningfully informed on significant questions involving the 2025 draft’s highest-profile pick who plays the game’s most important position. The decision confounded many, including recently retired New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr.
“I need to understand why we don’t get to see [Shedeur Sanders] run this 2-minute drill?” Carr posted to X. “Wouldn’t you want to see your young QB operate in this situation? Get him more reps for the future? I didn’t see the whole game, so maybe he already showed enough? Help me understand this.”
Shedeur Sanders’ Late-Game Exit Points to Chances He’s Buried on Browns’ Early Depth Chart
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
There are a few explanations, and none of them great for Sanders.
The first is that the Browns had seen enough, but in a bad way, and don’t care how Sanders might respond in a pressurized, late-game situation after playing poorly for two quarters because the answer is irrelevant to their decision on his future.
That could mean Cleveland plans to trade or cut the young QB. It could also mean they plan to carry him as QB4 and stash him for a further audition down the line somewhere in the regular season.
An even worse outcome would be that the team rolls with Huntley as its QB4, meaning essentially that Sanders lost his job to the journeyman backup.
That is unlikely, particularly because Cleveland spent a draft pick on Sanders. Also, Stefanski’s verbiage, “a last drive for Snoop,” indicates that Huntley will be on the market in a few days looking for a new home — just like last year when he landed with the Miami Dolphins and ended up making five starts there.
Dillon Gabriel Clearly Has Edge Over Shedeur Sanders in Rookie QB Battle
GettyCleveland Browns quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
That Gabriel got his second start of the preseason and improved over a moderate showing in game No. 2 may have also factored into Stefanski’s decision.
Pickett hasn’t played a snap during the preseason due to his hamstring issues. So the Browns may have decided that Flacco is QB1, Gabriel will enter the season as QB2, Sanders is a QB3 who won’t get a shot until Cleveland is no longer competitive and Pickett is potentially a trade chip (or the QB2 when he gets healthy, dropping Gabriel to QB3 and Sanders to QB4).
All of this is speculative, as the Browns haven’t announced their specific plans beyond Flacco starting Week 1. But reading actions over words, it is plain to see that Cleveland had a chance to learn more about Sanders and chose not to — apparently so Huntley could get one last preseason drive in before riding off into the relatively obscure sunset of late-offseason free agency for the second summer in a row.
That makes zero sense if Sanders is a serious part of the team’s immediate future, which is why it is fair to conclude that — at least for now — he isn’t.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Stefanski Tips Hand on Shedeur Sanders’ Future With Browns appeared first on Heavy Sports.