After missing valuable practice time and the Cleveland Browns' second preseason game with an injury, former Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders is back at practice and ready to continue developing. It was announced on Thursday that he will play in Cleveland's third and final preseason game, which figures to be the final time he will get live-game reps for quite some time.
The Browns named Joe Flacco the starter earlier this week, and Flacco will get the start on Saturday against the Rams to close the preseason. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Flacco will play 15-20 snaps before giving way to Dillon Gabriel. Sanders will play, but he will be the third QB coming in.
That's in spite of the fact that Sanders has consistently outperformed Gabriel in Training Camp and had the better preseason performance of the two.
But Sanders continues to take everything in stride. He continues to smile through the adversity and display a majority well beyond that of a rookie who is fighting for his NFL life.
"My time, whenever it is, I'm going to be ready and embrace that," Sanders said. "In due time, I've got many things I need to fix. I'm not oblivious to that. All I look at it is, I'm getting more time to cook."
Sanders is far from the brash, cocky young kid that he is made out to be. He knows he needs time to develop before he's ready to start a regular-season game in the NFL. He's working hard behind the scenes, so when that time inevitably comes, he'll be ready to go out and do what he does best.
Adam Schefter believes the Browns will keep all four QBs
There was some concern following the Browns' decision to name veteran Joe Flacco the starting QB that Sanders' days in Cleveland could be over before they ever really began. It seemed unlikely that the Browns would keep all four quarterbacks. It also seemed unlikely that they would let go of Dillon Gabriel, whom they drafted two rounds higher than Sanders, or Kenny Pickett, whom they spent draft capital to trade for just a few months ago.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, there's increasing belief around the league that the Browns are going to keep four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. It's a risky proposition considering the limited roster space. It's also the Browns not wanting to make a decision on either rookie QB, and believing there's a chance that once Pickett is healthy that he may wrestle the starting job away from Flacco.
After his performance in Training Camp and in Cleveland's preseason opener, there would likely be heavy interest in Sanders around the league. It appears he will remain with the team that drafted him, at least for now.