Shedeur Sanders, one of college football’s brightest stars last year, is fighting for snaps as a third-stringer in Cleveland right now. Even after earning a roster spot with the Browns, Sanders still finds himself behind 40-year-old Joe Flacco… And, of course, rookie Dillon Gabriel, who wasn’t even on the radar among elite CFB QBs last season.
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This predicament hasn’t stopped Sanders from declaring he’s “ready to play right now.” But veteran broadcaster Dan Patrick feels the path forward may be tougher than what the Colorado product anticipates.
Patrick, who admitted he has “much respect” for Sanders’ college career and even “voted him third in the Heisman,” suggested that even with Flacco’s struggles (2 TDs, 4 INT), Shedeur isn’t the next man up.
“From what I’m told, Dillon Gabriel has been better, has played better, and is more ready, whatever that means,” Patrick revealed on Cam Newton’s 4th & 1 podcast.
Patrick’s issue with the Browns’ quarterback situation has to do with the environment it has fostered. He even criticized Sanders’ decision to avoid the Ravens in the draft process, believing Baltimore would have been the better landing spot.
“You’re gonna be in a first-class organization, you’re going to learn from a lot of different people there,” Patrick said of the Ravens.
“Instead, [he’s in] an organization that is not good at developing quarterbacks. Ownership hasn’t been good, team hasn’t been good, you get bad habits,” the analyst added.
The concern, Patrick stressed, is that Cleveland’s dysfunction could shape how Sanders is judged in the long run. “I just don’t know if you get a chance for a bad team, then people say, ‘Yep, see, told you he couldn’t play,’” he said.
But this doesn’t mean that the veteran journalist has written Sanders off completely. He acknowledged that all young quarterbacks face an adjustment period and that the ex-Buffs star has shown the right approach so far.
“By all accounts, he’s handled himself quite well in Cleveland by learning, by listening, and not trying to play the ‘don’t you know who I am’ card,” Patrick added. But looking ahead, he doesn’t see Shedeur’s moment coming right away.
“Flacco is not going to be there next year, I wouldn’t think. But they have two first-round picks in what is supposed to be a quarterback-heavy draft. I don’t even know if he’s going to get an opportunity with Cleveland,” concluded Patrick.
For now, the former Colorado star is stuck waiting, running scout team reps while his peers climb the ladder. But with Gabriel already earning better reviews and the Browns possibly eyeing next year’s quarterback-heavy class with two first-round picks, it looks like Sanders’ first real NFL chance may have to come somewhere else.
