After he was made out to be the fool of the 2025 NFL Draft and subjected to a multi-month quarterback competition, Shedeur Sanders has officially been placed at the bottom of the Cleveland Browns depth chart. Many believe that the league has been actively conspiring against Sanders for the past several months, but Cam Newton is refusing to put on the tinfoil hat.
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According to the former face of the Carolina Panthers, the 144th overall draft pick has displayed several traits that are more than questionable. “The worst habit I’ve seen him have is he does not step up in the pocket,” Newton highlighted during the most recent episode of his 4th & 1 podcast. “He’s not used to having a meaningful line.”
Nevertheless, Newton doesn’t believe that Sanders should necessarily be receiving the bulk of the blame for his final preseason performance either. Is he responsible for getting the ball out of his own hands in order to avoid sacks? Yes. Did Cleveland’s backup lineman do much in the way of buying him time? Absolutely not.
For Newton, however, it was the body language of Sanders, above all else, that proved to be the most problematic. “Shedeur Sanders had bad body language under the pretense of him knowing ‘come on, bruh.’ Four of those five guys protecting him is gone.”
Even if the Browns were actively attempting to set Shedeur Sanders up for failure, his disheveled expressions and lackluster strut are now being used to validate the preexisting complaints that he is a diva-like quarterback. Suffice to say, he supplied his enemies with the perfect ammunition.
From the coaching staff to the media itself, there aren’t many folks throughout the NFL who seem to be supportive of Sanders right now. Should he hope to avoid enduring even more unnecessary scrutiny from either of those two parties, then perhaps a more stoic approach is what’s needed from the former Colorado Buffalo.
Even though he’ll start the regular season at the bottom of the depth chart, the 2024 Golden Arm winner will continue to be one of the more discussed signal callers in the league. If and when Joe Flacco begins to falter, Sanders’ name will immediately begin to plague Cleveland’s coaching staff at each and every post-game press conference.
The team’s QB2 and 94th overall draft pick in Dillon Gabriel has already proven that he’s no stranger to injuries either, so there certainly remains a glimmer of hope for both Sanders and his fan base. Unless the Browns are in complete and utter disarray by the midpoint of the season, it’s incredibly unlikely that the second-generation athlete will see any sort of meaningful snaps for the remainder of the calendar year.
