The Cleveland Browns have been consistently inconsistent when it comes to the quarterback position. And, even though they now have four active quarterbacks on the roster, that still appears to be the case, especially when it comes to the handling of Shedeur Sanders. Despite listing him as the QB4 on the depth chart and sidelining him from training camp with shoulder and arm soreness, the Browns have announced that the former Colorado QB will indeed be their starting quarterback for their preseason debut against the Carolina Panthers on August 8th.
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Sanders has been deprived of first-team reps all throughout the offseason as Cleveland has chosen to prioritize quite literally any other quarterback who is on the roster ahead of him. According to the founder and owner of Football Gameplan, Emory Hunt, however, Sanders will simply have to make due with what he has right now. “It’s not fair,” Hunt suggested, “but this is football.”
“At the end of the day, you get what you asked for, so get it because you asked for it. You never know when those opportunities are going to come as a football player. And if you’re Shedeur Sanders and you’ve been trying to impress enough to where you can ‘earn’ those first-team reps or second-team reps, well here’s a grand opportunity, on a national stage, to show, not only why you’ve earned those reps, but to be really in contention for QB1,” Hunt said.
Much like the majority of football fans across the nation, Hunt is also of the opinion that the second-generation athlete is undoubtedly “the most talented one in the room.” Nevertheless, Sanders is now being treated as a 144th overall pick rather than the potential franchise hero that he was initially heralded to be.
However, Hunt suggests that none of that matters now. All that remains is the task at hand, and that is what he is imploring Sanders to focus on. “It may not have been how you wanted it to arrive, but hey, you’re here. Now, take full advantage of that opportunity.”
Seeing as Carolina has voiced their intentions to field their starters for at least the first few series of the contest, it stands to reason that Friday’s result will likely have a lasting impact on Sanders’ position in the quarterback race. Both fans and coaching staffs alike will finally have the opportunity to see what the 23 year old will look like while standing inside of an NFL pocket and throwing against first-team defenders, and for better or worse, it will likely be the spark that ignites whichever narrative will follow him for the duration of his rookie season.
Even though he has yet to actually play in the NFL, Sanders has already managed to become one of the most polarizing figures in the league today without even trying. Now that he’s finally being given an opportunity, all there’s left to do is sit back and wait on the results.
Suffice to say, it may not be on schedule, but his time is set to come all the same.
