Count Chiefs star Travis Kelce in the Shedeur Sanders’ corner.
During this week’s episode of the “New Heights” podcast, Kelce threw his support behind the rookie quarterback to start for the Browns.
Taylor Swift’s fiancé made the case for Sanders to start for Cleveland when they kick off their season next weekend against the Bengals.
Sanders has been one of the most talked-about rookies since this year’s draft in April.
After he had been originally projected to be a first-round pick, Sanders dropped to the fifth round, where the Browns took him even after selecting Dillon Gabriel — another quarterback — two rounds earlier.
“Give the people what they want, in terms of the Browns fans,” Kelce said in the episode. “Start Shedeur. Give the people what they want. The world wants to see him go out there, and not only play, but have success. At this point, guys are rooting for him. This isn’t anything against Dillon. This isn’t anything against Joe [Flacco]. I’m just saying the excitement is there for [Sanders] to go out there. He’s going to put eyes on the screen. He’s going to bring people to the game.”
Sanders will start the season as the third-string quarterback behind Joe Flacco, who will start, and Gabriel, whom the Browns took in the third round in April.
Kelce said he understands starting Flacco is the more logical choice, but that doesn’t temper his excitement for wanting to see Sanders play.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski explained the decision as to why Sanders was starting the season where he was in the depth chart.
“It’s such an all-encompassing evaluation,” Stefanski explained to reporters. “Everything the guys did in the games was important. We also saw a lot of them out here in practice and how they are at their craft. He’s certainly somebody that we think is getting better and better.”
Sanders threw for 152 passing yards and two touchdowns during his preseason appearances while completing 17 of his 29 pass attempts.