After seeing his draft stock fall to the fifth round, where he was picked by the Cleveland Browns, Shedeur Sanders' opportunity to make his NFL debut arrived in Week 11 with a 23-16 loss against the Baltimore Ravens.
Starting quarterback and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel exited the game due to a concussion. The Browns turned to Sanders to take the reins for the remainder of the game, but it's safe to say the Colorado standout failed to impress. He completed 4 of 16 pass attempts for 47 yards, threw one interception and also lost a fumble. On the ground, he rushed for 16 yards on three carries.
Sanders entered the game when the Browns held a 16-10 lead. Under Sanders, the offense couldn't manage even a single field goal as the former Colorado standout faltered massively.
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Sanders' usage in the Browns' quarterback room has been rather controversial. He started at the bottom of the depth chart, but following the trades of Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco, he was elevated to the role of backup quarterback to Dillon Gabriel.
Finally, when the opportunity came for Shedeur to perform, he dropped the ball. However, ESPN Cleveland's Tony Rizzo finds Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski to blame for the failure.
"I'll be the first one to admit it, yeah, the kid looked awful," Rizzo said on his show. "He looked terrible. But whose fault is that? The guy’s one play away and you're not prepping him? How is that possible? I don't know.
"What I think happened yesterday is this: I think two things. Number one, it showed everybody he's got a long way to go, a lot of work. A lot of work. You're not gonna get that work here in Cleveland. And number two: this coach… he stabbed you. Give a goodbye. Goodbye. How’d the fourth-and-one work out?"
It remains to be seen if the latest performance will be treated as a small setback or could prove to be detrimental for Sanders' NFL career.
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