The Current Situation With Shedeur Sanders
Insight into how the Browns are handling the rookie and his position companion.
Somehow, were already two weeks into Training Camp. The days are adding up quick and the organization is starting to act like it knows the evaluation period is dwindling. There’s a real sense of urgency in Berea that is manifesting through physical sessions and a higher volume of 11-on-11 reps. The 2025 season is inching uncomfortably closer.
Don’t get it wrong, though, the Browns still remain desperate at the most important position. The collective play at quarterback has been far from ideal and a true front runner for the starting role has yet to come into focus. Sure injuries have muddied the waters, but the team is still thoroughly searching for the best answer. The organization has to do all they can to figure out if the long-term starter is inside the building, however the pacing of those evaluations seems to be what is causing the biggest public issue. The driving force behind the discontent is the stat tracking seen below.
Stat tracking Training Camp reps is unfair at best. It fails to acknowledge so many factors unavailable to the viewing public. It misses the nuance of the rep type and gives a perceived boost to others facing less strenuous reps. There’s also the issue of if the rep was in a 7-on-7 setting, which gives the offense a serious advantage, or an 11-on-11 full team setting with pass rush, etc.
The public will see these numbers above and believe the Browns are holding Shedeur Sanders back and putting him at a disadvantage compared to his peers. “The numbers are good and I saw a few clips of throws from camp” and that decides it. Well, it goes far deeper than that.
When you get to Berea everyday, you get the full scope. Dillon Gabriel is working with a portion of the first-team reps and then a portion of the second-team reps. The same for Joe Flacco, and Kenny Pickett when he was healthy. Those three felt like a mixture of a true competition. They will go up against the first-team defense with both versions of the Browns offense, as well as some of the second-team defense. There are guys moving in and out in position groups, so it can be tough to keep up with, but you can get a sense of the larger portion of the players to know which level of the defense or offense it is.
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