Shedeur Sanders finished with -27 yards in his final preseason game for the Cleveland Browns, sparking debate about coaching decisions and his future.
Shedeur Sanders netted a negative amount of yards in his final preseason game as a rookie on Saturday, likely leaving him at the bottom of the Cleveland Browns‘ quarterback depth chart.
The Cleveland Browns rookie came into the game in the third quarter and completed three of six passes for 14 yards, while taking five sacks for a combined loss of 41 yards against the LA Rams. Thus, he netted -27 yards for Cleveland, before being pulled from the game on the final drive and replaced by veteran Tyler Huntley. Huntley led the Browns offense on a game-winning field goal drive, as the Browns won 19-17.
It was a far cry from Sanders‘ first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8, when he threw for two touchdowns and was praised by fans and sports stars alike, including LeBron James and Dawn Staley.
However, many fans and pundits were quick to defend Sanders for his rough outing on Saturday, and blamed the Browns‘ coaching for putting Sanders in a position where he had to rely on backup teammates, while also calling questionable plays.
Former NFL quarterback Derek Carr questioned why Sanders wasn’t left in the game to finish the final drive.
„I need to understand why we don’t get to see Shedeur Sanders run this 2 minute drill? Wouldn’t you want to see your young QB operate in this situation? Get him more reps for the future? I didn’t see the whole game so maybe he already showed enough? Help me understand this.“ Carr wrote on X.
Sanders himself even told reporters after the game that he didn’t think he wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the game to finish the final drive.
„I didn’t know I was out“, Sanders said. „I was powering up for that two-minute drive, because that’s just the situation that every quarterback dreams for.“
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked why Sanders was pulled for the final drive.
„Obviously, we didn’t play great as an offense in the second half and that’s not on one person, so we could be better in a bunch of areas. I just felt like we wanted to get [Huntley] in on that drive“, Stefanski said.
Sports talk show host Skip Bayless posted a 16-minute rant in defense of Sanders on X, while condemning the Browns for their handling of the quarterback.
„They sabotaged it, they rigged it against him today, putting him in with third and fourth-stringers, fifth-stringers, you got no shot at quarterback“, Bayless said.
