Shedeur Sanders had a great preseason debut last week for the Cleveland Browns, leading three touchdown drives, two of which he capped off with impressive touchdown throws. However, the Sanders rocket ship hit a skid a few days later as the QB picked up an oblique injury at practice.
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It happened early on Wednesday, and the injury was bad enough to keep Sanders out for the remainder of the day. He did not practice on Thursday either, which means he will unlikely be able to suit up on Saturday for Cleveland’s Week 2 preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
That’s not ideal, considering Sanders is QB4 on the depth chart and will need to use every rep he can during the preseason to convince his coaches to move him up on that list. However, former NFLer Chris Canty believes that this mild oblique injury could be a “blessing in disguise” for Sanders.
“The fact that you’re not gonna see him out there against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night. It tampers down unrealistic expectations that some people… have been putting on Shedeur, while he’s been in the mix for the QB1 job. Starting the season as QB1 as a rookie, might not be ideal.”
"This could be a blessing in disguise."
@ChrisCanty99 believes Shedeur Sanders sitting out the next game may help in the long run 👀 pic.twitter.com/Ca2u6oAWUM— First Take (@FirstTake) August 14, 2025
Sanders being thrown to the wolves right away is not only a bad idea, but it’s even worse considering the Browns’ early-season schedule in 2025. It includes a home opener against the Bengals, then five straight games against playoff teams from last year. Out of the frying pan and into the fire indeed.
“When you think about it, they’re at home against the Cincinnati Bengals, then they got a string of five straight playoff teams. Not a soft place to land if you’re Shedeur Sanders,” the Super Bowl 46 champion continued.
“Although it’s never ideal to be dealing with an injury, the fact that the severity of the injury is not expected to keep him out long term, and the fact that this does give everybody a chance to chill out with the expectations, I think it could be a good thing for Shedeur in the long run,” he added.
A couple of other QBs on the roster have been dealing with ailments as well. Kenny Pickett, QB2 on the depth chart, has been dealing with a hamstring injury for a couple of weeks and won’t suit up on Saturday. Dillon Gabriel, the third-round pick, was also dealing with a hamstring issue, but he did some 11-on-11 work this week, so he seems on track to play.
That’s the last thing Sanders would want: Gabriel is likely his biggest competition, considering they’re both rookies. If both Pickett and Sanders are out on Saturday, Gabriel will get a lot of reps to justify the Browns’ decision to draft him ahead of Shedeur. And also keeping him ahead on the depth chart.
