Shedeur Sanders was 100 percent set up to fail in his final preseason appearance

Shedeur Sanders must've had flashbacks of 2023. The best quarterback on the Browns roster was sacrificed to the Rams behind a makeshift offensive line of camp bodies in a final attempt to make sure the rookie "knows his place".

Fact is, Sanders was doomed the minute a gutter franchise like the Browns drafted him. Then he had the nerve to actually play well in his only start and give their long-suffering fans some hope in a season that's otherwise doomed.

Today the Browns finally executed their master plan - they want to break Sanders' spirit. 

After allowing projected starter Joe Flacco and chosen backup Dillon Gabriel to shine with the starters and primary backups, the Browns put Sanders in the game during the second half with a group of guys that will not be in the NFL after the cut deadline on Wednesday. 

Sanders, who was running for his life on nearly every snap, was sacked five times and completed just 3-of-6 passes for 14 yards. Despite the monumental challenge, Sanders tried his best to make the most of the moment, extending plays as best he could before throwing to receivers that couldn't get an inch of separation and couldn't catch a cold standing naked in a freezer. Then, to make matters worse, they didn't even allow Sanders to run the two-minute offense, letting Snoop Huntley come in for that crucial situation. 

It's hard to say what Sanders' immediate future will be. The Browns clearly want to do everything in their power to not let him see the field, but they also might not want to cut him. So it's very possible they will trade Kenny Pickett, keep Gabriel as the backup and keep Sanders to stash him on the inactives all season.

The good news is Sanders has been here before. His skills have been doubted. He's played behind some pretty bad offensive lines. He's had to prove himself to a lot of non-believers. Each time, Sanders has shown the resiliency and heart to bounce back and prove the haters wrong. And the people of Cleveland are clearly behind Sanders.

It's going to be an uphill battle in the NFL for Sanders. Especially playing for a poverty franchise that hates winning like the Browns. But Sanders has been through tough times before, and he'll continue to improve to the point where they can't ignore him any longer.