Shedeur Sanders may be third-string in Cleveland, but he believes he could be first-string elsewhere.
The most polarizing No. 3 quarterback in the NFL said he knows he can outperform some of the league’s starting quarterbacks, even while he has yet to play a regular-season snap for the Browns.
“I know if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that,” Sanders told ESPN Cleveland in an interview published Thursday.
Pundits once believed Sanders, the former Colorado star, to be a potential top-five pick in this year’s NFL draft, but he instead shockingly fell to the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round.
He entered training camp in a four-way battle for the Browns’ starting job, and Cleveland ultimately installed veteran Joe Flacco as the starter and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel as the backup. The team also shipped Kenny Pickett to the Raiders in the offseason.
That leaves Sanders as the third-string option who serves as the scout-team quarterback.
“Overall, I feel like I’m doing great and doing what I need to do each and every day. Remaining focused and mind on the complete mission, not really get comfortable. I’m not comfortable being a scout team player, but honestly, that’s my situation, so I’m going to make the best of it and enjoy my moment,” Sanders told ESPN Cleveland ahead of Week 4. “Overall, this isn’t my end goal. I’m just enjoying myself, learning, doing everything I have to do and just ready for my opportunity.”
The backdrop to Sanders’ situation is that it’s possible he could have been the No. 2 option with another team.
The Ravens reportedly wanted to pick Sanders with the No. 141 pick, but his camp let Baltimore know he didn’t want to be Lamar Jackson’s backup since that afforded no path to a starting role, per ESPN.
Father Deion Sanders recently revealed that the Eagles also inquired about Shedeur, but they present a similar situation with Jalen Hurts established as the starter.
There is a much clearer path to playing time in Cleveland with the veteran Flacco and fellow rookie Gabriel in his way, although the Browns made it clear they prefer Gabriel — for now, at least — since they took him two rounds earlier and he would be the first one up to replace Flacco.
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“I focus on each and every day and what I got to do. Just because where I am on a depth chart, don’t let that dictate my mindset each and every day because you don’t know what happens or what could happen,” Sanders told ESPN Cleveland this week. “It’s keeping a mindset of staying locked in and staying into everything, and remaining focused on the main thing.”
The Browns are 1-2 after upsetting Green Bay in Week 3 and have a tall task ahead of them in Week 4 when they visit the Lions.
It’s possible the team could look to the future and play Gabriel and/or Sanders if the season slips away in the near future, but the latter isn’t focusing on when his time could come.
“I don’t think playing or not playing is in my hands,” Sanders said. “I think based on the situation, if things happen, if things pan out where I play, then I’ll be out there and ready to play. I’m ready to play right now.”