Why can’t we say Shedeur Sanders was bad in his NFL debut?
He was bad.
That doesn’t mean he’ll forever be a bad player. Or that he’s a bad person. In fact, after the game, he said just the opposite. No, seriously.
“I’m a good person,” Sanders said at the podium.
But Sanders doesn’t have time to be a bad NFL quarterback. As a late-round pick, he won’t get many chances to prove he can be an effective pro. So far, he’s 0-for 1. He’s going to start Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. He can’t be anywhere near as bad as he was against the Baltimore Ravens.
In that game, Sanders entered early in the second half with a six-point lead after Browns starter Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion. Sanders had 21 dropbacks and 16 passing attempts. He completed four passes for 47 yards with one interception, two sacks, a 13.5 passer rating and a completion percentage over expected of -21.1%.
Shedeur Sanders hangs his head after throwing an interception during the third quarter against the Ravens on Nov. 16. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
There’s obviously context to all those (horrendous) stats. It’s the Cleveland Browns, after all. It’s hell for a quarterback. And that’s exactly what Sanders experienced in his limited action on Sunday. The Browns — as much as the Ravens — gave him hell.
It’s fair to note that context. But it’s also fair to say that Sanders was bad.
It has nothing to do with his name. It has nothing to do with his pre-draft grade or his post-draft status. It has nothing to do with his LEGENDARY brand or his social media persona.
“The bottom line is, as a backup quarterback, you’ve got to come in on short notice. And you can’t throw interceptions,” former journeyman backup Chase Daniel said on his YouTube channel while breaking down Sanders’ game film. “So honestly, it could not have started worse.”
On his second drive, Sanders threw an interception — the first of many mistakes in the game. He demonstrated growth at a few points, most notably executing a passing concept that, earlier in the game, he botched. It wasn’t just his biggest throw of the game — a 25-yard pass to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. — it was his biggest win from a developmental standpoint.
But Sanders couldn’t get the ball into the end zone on that drive.
It was the same story on Cleveland’s final drive.
On one throw — an incompletion that receiver Gage Larvadain couldn’t rip away from tight coverage — the Browns QB could have hit a wide open Jerry Jeudy to pick up the first down. And Jeudy should’ve been Sanders’ primary read.
This is all true! Frankly, it’s not contestable.
But Sanders’ supporters will want more context. So let’s get back to it. The Ravens blitzed Sanders on 38.1% of his dropbacks, and even though Baltimore repeated a number of the same blitzes (often including a pick stunt), the Browns’ offensive line and running backs simply did not execute proper pass protection. Which was why Sanders looked like vintage Sanders from his days at Colorado: running for his life. He tried to play hero ball — taking long sacks, incurring a grounding penalty and, in one case, escaping the rush and nearly making a heroic throw (which ultimately fell incomplete).
“It’s the first time I got hit since my last game at Colorado — just having that feeling back is good,” Sanders said. He later added that “it truly was exciting” to get to play with the first team for the first time all year.
Tucked in there, Sanders provided more context: No snaps with the first team.
NONE?! some wondered. ZERO?! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!??!?!
It’s actually commonplace for teams to reserve every practice snap for their starter. Now, that might be an institutional issue league-wide. But it’s an issue that every backup faces. That likely includes Kirk Cousins, for example. That included longtime backups like Daniel, Luke McCown and Brian Hoyer.
“[Backup QBs] come in and struggle [and] you’re evaluated [off] that performance. Right or wrong, the league makes judgments about you,” McCown said in a lengthy tweet about Sanders on Sunday. “That’s why it’s so hard for backups to have long careers that weren’t at one point full-time starters.”
Since Dillon Gabriel (left) became Cleveland’s starter, he got all the first-team reps. Shedeur Sanders (right) said he worked with the first team for the first time on Sunday in his NFL debut. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
That doesn’t mean some teams don’t divvy up snaps to backups. Last year, quarterback Drake Maye received roughly 30 percent of the team’s snaps, even when he was a backup. It was an intentional and atypical effort to develop the young QB. But Maye was the third overall pick. Sanders went 144th.
The argument over whether Sanders should’ve received more practice snaps has two sides. Point: Gabriel needed every snap he could get to develop and prepare. Counterpoint: Gabriel hasn’t been so good that he should’ve kept Sanders off the field for, at least, a few snaps here and there.
Coach Kevin Stefanski could think outside the box and split the snaps. But then he might run into questions inside the locker room about indecision — and prioritizing a win each week.
I can’t take a side because we don’t know what Sanders’ work ethic and scout-team performances have been like behind the scenes. What we do know is that Sanders tanked his pre-draft interviews in part because of an apparent lack of preparation. It remains to be seen whether he has since put his head down to earn more reps with the starters.
But on Sunday, he offered a small window into his mindset. When he was asked if he saw any positives from his own performance, here’s how he responded.
“Losing isn’t something I’m comfortable with. I’ve just got to take this one. I’ve got to decompress. This really happened on my watch. I don’t like the feeling. I know offensively if I’m able to get out there and have an opportunity, I’ll be able to take everything to the next level,” Sanders said.
He concluded the press conference with this thought: “The feeling of losing — that ain’t nothing that I’m going to get comfortable with. Not on my watch.”
Sanders will get a proper start on Sunday. He’ll get a week to prepare with the starters.
And much like this week, the world will measure him — in polarizing fashion – despite a too-small sample size.
We’ll get a fairer evaluation. Some elements will remain unfair, including the fact that Cleveland’s offensive line isn’t all that good. And ultimately, it will be only his first start. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix looked like hot garbage in his first start, but look at him now — excelling as a game manager for the AFC’s No. 1 seed. First-round picks get all the benefits in the world when it comes to development (as we noted with Maye’s practice snaps).
If things were fair, we could wait and see what Sanders develops into — even if that means he’s competing for a starting job on another NFL roster during 2026 training camp. But he won’t get that much time. That’s just not how the league works.
First, he needs to try to convince the Browns that they should invest more time in him — both at practice this year and beyond. If that fails, it could get ugly. The Browns might move on from Sanders this offseason, whether Stefanski sticks around or not. And then what? Every team passed on Sanders in the draft. They might do the same thing if he is a free agent in March.
So the young QB is playing for his future.
Ahead of his first NFL start, he has to prepare like there’s nothing else in his life that matters. He needs to use that preparation to wholly avoid turnovers and minimize sacks. And he needs to convert a few of Sunday’s almost-touchdowns into actual touchdowns.
It’s a tall task. It’s an unfair task.
But it’s the reality of the situation.
One game shouldn’t determine the outcome of an NFL player’s career.
And yet, for Sanders, this one might.
Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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