Quarterback Shedeur Sanders successfully made the Cleveland Browns' 53-man roster after an up-and-down offseason, but will he actually see the field in 2025?
Well, according to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, don't count on it.
Russini wrote in her Saturday column that the expectation is Sanders won't see the field for the Browns in 2025. Russini notes that the presence of veteran Joe Flacco and fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel are big roadblocks for Sanders.
"However, don’t plan on seeing the fifth-round pick on the field this season unless things get really weird. Cleveland believes in Joe Flacco’s experience and Dillon Gabriel’s development as the backup," Russini wrote.
Russini did clear the air on what was behind the draft selection of Sanders.
The insider noted that the decision was all general manager Andrew Berry's, who was confident that head coach Kevin Stefanski's staff could develop the Colorado product.
"For all the football conspiracy theorists out there trying to decode the real reason the Cleveland Browns drafted Shedeur Sanders, here’s the truth: There is no big secret," she said. "The pick wasn’t some master plan from ownership.
"It was GM Andrew Berry’s call, rooted in his belief that Cleveland’s coaching staff could bring out the best in Sanders and help him grow into an NFL quarterback. It will be a process, and the Browns want to keep developing him," Russini added.
Once the Browns traded Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders, the path was clear for Sanders to make the roster.
However, he ended up being listed as the No. 2 quarterback behind Gabriel on the depth chart, which wasn't surprising considering Gabriel was drafted two rounds earlier than Sanders.
Sanders completed 17-of-29 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns to zero picks over two exhibition games. He was very impressive in his preseason debut, but he came back down to earth in the finale after missing the second preseason contest because of injury.
Barring something unforeseen, Sanders will be inactive and serve as the emergency third quarterback for the foreseeable future, which means he won't get into a game outside of a catastrophic injury situation.
But as the season progresses and the Browns inevitably fall out of contention, there will be a chance that Sanders sees the field at some point, although that would again take injury or a complete failure from Gabriel to actually happen.
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