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Emmanuel Acho Explains How Politics and Posturing Could Prevent Shedeur Sanders From Becoming the QB1

Samnur Reza
Published

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) listens to the play calling on the sideline during an NFL practice at the Cleveland Browns training facility on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.

Since rookie minicamp itself, Shedeur Sanders has been turning heads in Cleveland, and that momentum has carried into OTAs. His ball placement has been labeled elite. Then, in a recent outing, he completed 9 of 14 passes and threw three touchdowns.

Shedeur’s performance on the field matches exactly what the majority of NFL analysts predicted a few months ago. That is, until those same analysts (including us) watched in stunned silence during the 2025 NFL Draft as this talented QB slipped all the way to the fifth round.

However, now that Shedeur is balling out in OTAs, he should be the favorite for the starting job, right? Wrong… He’s still receiving limited first-team reps in practice. And naturally, analysts like Emmanuel Acho remain skeptical about where this could lead.

On an episode of The Facility, the former linebacker highlighted two major reasons why Shedeur could still be overlooked as the QB1 when September rolls around. One of them being politics.

“Even if Shedeur is the most talented quarterback, it might be politics that keep him from starting week 1. What might those politics be?” Acho began.

“Hey, we’ve invested $4 million in Joe Flacco — politics number 1. Hey, we’ve traded for Kenny Pickett — politics number 2. Hey, we drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round and Shedeur in the fifth round — politics number 3.”

Acho himself witnessed this type of politics during his NFL stint in Philadelphia. As he recalled, before the 2014 season, he was demoted to the practice squad as a third-string linebacker. However, after Mychal Kendricks suffered an injury in Week 2 (which Acho mistakenly remembered as Week 1) and missed a few weeks of field time, Acho was elevated to starter.

Acho was originally supposed to be a backup after the promotion, though. The former LB believes it was politics that helped him become the starter.

The second reason why Shedeur might be overlooked for the starting job? Posturing. Acho brought up how Titans HC Brian Callahan had plenty of praise for Shedeur during the draft scouting process — but did they go through with the selection? No.

Mike Tomlin also sang his praises, but the Steelers didn’t pick him either, despite being a QB-needy team. Even Jerry Jones claimed he had evaluated Shedeur “extremely high” in this draft. But we all know how that turned out.

At this point, it’s quite strange how the Shedeur drama continues to drag on. His father even caught flak for speaking out about the draft slide, weeks after it happened. Suddenly, it’s considered a problem to talk about your son experiencing one of the most unprecedented falls in league history.

And it could very likely get even worse for Shedeur. There’s still a significant chance he gets cut before the season. As Acho puts it, “It’s hard to take this seriously when I know that politics exists in the NFL and posturing exists in the NFL.”

About the author

Samnur Reza

Samnur Reza

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Samnur Reza is an NFL editor for The SportsRush. He holds a degree in English Honors and joined The SportsRush editorial team in 2023. Having previously worked as a freelancer and several media outlets, Samnur has been religiously following the National Football League for the past six and a half years. Samnur first started following football after Tom Brady's cameo in Ted 2. It wasn’t long before he found himself grabbing a bucket of popcorn to enjoy football games. He still vividly remembers his first-ever fixture: a 2011 matchup between the Patriots and Raiders, where Brady led his team to a 31-19 victory. Even so, Samnur believes Brady’s best performance came against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, a game he still revisits from time to time. Samnur diligently follows most NFL athletes, their family members, and even the NCAA. Thus, he considers himself a diverse writer, having covered almost every corner of the football world. He does, however, have a special interest in athlete-centric stories. Whenever they engage in off-field ventures or charitable activities, Samnur enjoys reading and writing about them. Samnur had already authored over 1000 NFL-based articles before becoming an editor. His editorial journey began just a little over a year ago. Beyond football, Samnur is a true cinephile with an extensive repertoire of films. He’s also fond of cats and has a furry friend named ‘Eva.’ During his free time, Samnur enjoys playing video games, currently immersed in Demon's Souls. Having recently learned how to ride a bike, he now wishes to travel almost everywhere on it.

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