Shedeur Sanders had an insanely polarizing yet newsworthy rookie season, mostly for the wrong reasons. First, he took a draft-day slide to the fifth round. Then, he remained the Cleveland Browns’ QB3 until well into the season. To cap it off, he not only became the starter, but somehow, also made the Pro Bowl in one of the most controversial selections in the game’s history.
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With the regular season coming to an end and Cleveland out of the playoffs, Shedeur has been traveling in the offseason lately alongside his brother, Shilo Sanders. The two were recently seen on YouTube in the streets of Paris, France, exploring the city while livestreaming. Shedeur, holding a cake in hand after a crazy season, said doing what he wants feels liberating.
This is because Shedeur stayed disciplined and focused on his diet throughout the NFL season. Now, eating whatever he wants feels like a true vacation. Shilo responded to his brother hilariously, saying that ever since he got waived, every day has felt like a vacation. Shilo then told Shedeur how lucky the QB was for not getting crushed by Maxx Crosby in the pocket during the Las Vegas Raiders game in Week 12.
It was the QB’s first start of his young career, and he led the Browns to a 24-10 victory. He was also only sacked once for a loss of just three yards, though his older brother was clearly worried before the game.
“Bro, I’m so happy that you did not get sacked that hard in that game,” Shilo joked during the stream.
“Bro, I did not know what it feels like lining up with Maxx Crosby on the other side,” Shedeur shared. “And I’m on the pine. Think about that, fam. Think about you’re just chilling on the pine for a long time, then you’re gonna get hit by Maxx Crosby? You’re out there psyching yourself out.”
It must have been a massive mental hurdle for Shedeur to clear. After sitting on the bench for almost the entire season, he was thrust into action against one of the game’s best pass rushers.
Shilo later said that he was going to call Crosby ahead of the game to ask him to go easy on his brother. “I was scared. I was gonna call him before the game and be like, ‘Hey, big bro, just chill, okay, I know it’s love,’” he said.
Crosby finished the game with three hits on Shedeur, but none of them were sacks. The Raiders DE still had five tackles for loss and left his mark on the game. Yet, he was never able to get to the QB with the ball in his hands.
Going into his second season, it will be interesting to see if Shedeur keeps his job. He played admirably at times, showing flashes of his potential last year. But overall, it was an unsustainable level of output for a QB. Maybe head coach Todd Monken’s arrival can help fine-tune some of his struggles.
