Former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders has impressed some people so far in Cleveland Browns practices. The fifth round rookie is a member of a quarterback room in Cleveland that consists of four other players; Dillon Gabriel, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Deshaun Watson. 

One source that was at Cleveland Browns OTA’s claimed that Sanders has been the best quarterback in that room up to this point in the offseason. 

Cleveland sports show co-host Tony Rizzo was asked about Shedeur Sanders’s performance so far in Browns camp. 

“I got a text from an ESPN Cleveland employee that said Shedeur looked like the best quarterback in camp,” Rizzo said. 

Sanders has been taking reps with three of the four other Browns quarterbacks the past few weeks. The only quarterback on the Browns roster that hasn’t been partaking is Deshaun Watson. Watson suffered a torn achilles last season and his return for next season is still up in the air. 

Sanders has currently been splitting reps with Gabriel, Flacco, and Pickett. 

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Even if one of the rookies (Sanders or Gabriel) perform well through training camp, it is still possible neither one of them win the starting job for the Browns opening game on Sept. 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals. 

The Browns are coming off of a 3-14 2024 season. In the 2025 NFL Draft, Gabriel was selected in the third round and Sanders in the fifth. Would Browns coach Kevin Stefanski throw one of these rookies into the fire immediately instead of letting a veteran like Joe Flacco begin the season as the starter? 

The quarterback position for the Cleveland Browns has a been a question mark even since the franchise was reborn in 1999. Since then, the Browns have had an astonishing 40 different quarterbacks that have started a game for them. It has been a constant turnstile for a quarterback century. 

It looked as if the Browns had that quarterback question finally answered after they select Baker Mayfield No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. In his third season as starter, Mayfield helped lead the Browns to the playoffs and a Wild Card round win over the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. After that season, things began to fall apart.

Mayfield battled through numerous injuries and it clearly affected his play as he and the Browns could never get to where they were in that playoff season. Mayfield ended up in short stops with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams before he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to the 2023 season. 

Since coming to Tampa Bay, Mayfield has led the Buccaneers to the playoffs multiple times and has proven to be a very good starting quarterback in the NFL. Meanwhile in Cleveland, the Browns are still searching for their answer. 

Ricky Rubio was once one of the most exciting passers in the NBA.

He spent the first six seasons of his NBA career playing for the Minneosta Timberwolves.

Last week, Rubio sent out two posts (via X).

Rubio (on June 5): “… I took this year to reflect on my career and my life, and I’ve realized that if I’ve gotten to
where I am today, it’s not because of the assists I’ve given, but because of the assists I’ve received. This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a thank you to all the people who have helped me along the way.”

Rubio (on June 6): “… Gràcies a tothom. Seguim!
Gracias a todos. ¡Seguimos!
Thank you all. Let’s keep going!”

The Timberwolves reacted to Rubio’s post on June 6.

They wrote: “thank you for all the memories, Ricky 💙”

Rubio also returned to the Timberwolves for one more season toward the end of his career.

He finished his run in Minnesota with averages of 10.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 2.0 steals per contest while shooting 37.7% from the field and 31.3% from the three-point range in 421 games (384 starts).

Via Jackson Lloyd: “Ricky Rubio gave Timberwolves fans a reason to watch when there weren’t many reasons to watch.”

Rubio was the fifth pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

He played 12 NBA seasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns (and Timberwolves).

Via StatMuse (on November 7, 2021): “Ricky Rubio tonight:

37 PTS (career-high)
10 AST
8-9 3P (career-high)

He is the first player in NBA history with 30+ points, 10+ assists, 8+ threes in a game off the bench.”

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders is unquestionably one of the most polarizing figures in sports right now, and it will probably remain that way for quite some time.

The former Colorado Buffaloes superstar was expected by most to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, but he fell all the way to Round 5, where the Browns traded up to acquire him.

While Sanders has a very large fan base, he also has his fair share of detractors, or at least those who are not entirely sold on him.

Count Jason McIntyre of Fox Sports among that group, and recently, he took some major shots at the 23-year-old.

“Despite all the hype for Shedeur, he’s the only quarterback on the Browns who wasn’t playing with the [first team],” McIntyre said. “The guy’s got ‘Be Legendary’ as his motto. He’s throwing really lavish NFL Draft parties. And he’s fourth on the depth chart, decidedly.”

Sanders is competing with veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett as well as fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel for the starting quarterback job, and as of right now, it’s quite a mountain to climb for him.

The Tyler, Tx. native may very well have the brightest future out of Cleveland’s signal-callers, but it’s clear that he is a work in progress and will probably not be prepared to start Week 1 of the regular season.

Is it possible that Sanders could get some playing time midway through the year? Certainly, but currently, he definitely appears to be on the outside looking in on the Browns’ depth chart.

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