Shedeur Sanders unfazed by lack of first-team reps at Browns camp
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — If Shedeur Sanders is frustrated about not receiving any snaps with the first team during the first week of the Cleveland Browns' training camp, he isn't showing it.
Sanders said on Friday that it is out of his control and not his place to answer why he has worked mainly with the third and fourth teams during the first three days of practice.
'I'm not even going to think about that or have that even in my thought process of why it is,' Sanders said. 'It doesn't make me feel down or it doesn't make me feel left out or anything because I know who I am as a person. I know who I am as an individual, and I know what I could bring to this team.'
Sanders — selected by the Browns in the fifth round after a precipitous fall in April's draft — did get some work with the second team for the first time on Friday. He had one of the best throws of the 80-minute practice on a completion down the middle to tight end Blake Whiteheart during 11-on-11 drills.
Sanders showed he could bounce back after a bad day of practice. He was unable to throw a pass during a four-play red zone drill on Thursday after snap issues on two plays, a false start, and what would have been a sack.
'I know whenever I get my opportunity, I've got to maximize it,' he said. 'I just got to think about what I could do to get better even if I'm not getting reps.'
Coach Kevin Stefanski didn't say if Sanders would receive any first-team snaps. Stefanski did note, though, that he has been happy with Sanders' progress over the past couple of months.
'Yeah, I think Shedeur does a nice job of keeping the main thing, the main thing. He's working hard and keeping his head down,' Stefanski said.
There have been 13 sets of 11-on-11 drills during the first three days. Joe Flacco has had the most work with the first team with seven, Kenny Pickett has had five and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel one.
Flacco and Pickett are the two main combatants in the four-man competition to see who will be the starter for the Sept. 7 opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
All four are getting plenty of snaps on the two practice fields, but there is a difference in who they are working with.
Sanders said the one advantage of not getting many snaps is that he has had the opportunity to learn more in-depth about everything instead of on the fly like he did at Jackson State and Colorado, where his father, Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, instantly made him the starter.
Shedeur Sanders added that the area where he has made the most improvement is being more comfortable with the playbook.
'It's always consistent growth, and it always feels like I just solved a puzzle or anything, like, all the time,' he said.
Quarterback coach Bill Musgrave — who was Deion Sanders' teammate during San Francisco's Super Bowl-winning season in 1994 — has been impressed with Sanders' ability to call the play in the huddle as well as calling plays under center. He also added he has seen the same progress from Gabriel, a third-round pick.
When it comes to the outside pressures Sanders might face — including heightened expectations from fans — Musgrave said that everyone has pressure, but the approach has to remain the same.
'The focus has got to be on the techniques, the five-step drop, the seven-step drop, being accurate with our throws,' Musgrave said. 'If we can focus on our trade, the external factors take a back seat, which is where they should remain.'
While some may waver from the expectations, Sanders has embraced them. He has made a couple of appearances in the Cleveland area, including hosting a community event to benefit residents displaced after an apartment complex fire.
He also accepted responsibility for two speeding tickets last month. However, things that are happening off the field are the last thing on Sanders' mind over the next five weeks.
'The external is cool. I'm thankful for it,' he said. 'But hey, when I get out there, I'm not thinking about external. I'm thinking about more, in the organization, thinking about getting the play calls, executing my job, and doing what I've got to do.'
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USA Today
18 minutes ago
- USA Today
NFL record predictions 2025: AI makes win-loss picks for all 32 teams
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Where the Browns' QB competition stands one week into training camp
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With Flacco and Pickett on cheap contracts only for 2025, Gabriel a late third-round pick and Sanders a fifth-rounder, the Browns aren't committed to anyone or anything besides letting this summer play out. The four-way battle has probably been what most expected in the still-early stages. And while it's been ugly at times, that also falls under the category of expected, given the division of reps and the small number of chances for any quarterback to get comfortable thus far. There has been one wrinkle, though. ESPN reported Sunday afternoon that Pickett suffered a hamstring injury in practice Saturday, leaving his availability unclear for a big week ahead. There have been bad snaps, bad passes, dropped passes, defenders in the backfield before any quarterback could be ready, and other ugliness that happens in every camp at every level of this beautiful game. In a Saturday morning 7-on-7 drill, each quarterback got four passes. Collectively, they finished 5-of-16. Of the five completions, three were Sanders checkdowns in the final group of the drill. Sanders later made his first true highlight play of camp with a crossing route for a touchdown to undrafted rookie receiver Luke Floriea in an 11-on-11 drill. Sanders followed that with consecutive touchdown throws in a red zone 7-on-7, and late practice red zone work led to the most prolonged period of completions near and in the end zone that we've seen in camp. finding the end zone @ShedeurSanders | @Juiceup__3 — Cleveland Browns (@Browns) July 26, 2025 Flacco has the best arm of the bunch, and there have been times he has shown off that arm strength. Overall, Flacco has been up and down and has rarely strung completions together. As was always the plan, Flacco only took competitive 11-on-11 reps on two of the four days. Given his experience, he'll continue to sit out in some situations until/unless he clearly pulls away from the field. Advertisement Pickett threw one of the few interceptions in camp on Thursday. He's shown off his mobility on multiple occasions, and he's generally getting the ball out of his hand quickly. Though he's been mostly just OK and has made few (if any) impressive downfield completions, he finished Saturday's practice with a pair of quick-release touchdown passes on the move in a red zone drill. It's unclear if he injured his hamstring on his rollout touchdown to end Saturday's practice or if it was suffered earlier and he remained on the field. Gabriel is a decisive thrower and quick processor, and he's arguably been the most on-time of the passers on out routes to the perimeter. However, after displaying impressive accuracy in the first two practices of camp, Gabriel was erratic over the last two days. Saturday, especially, he struggled to connect with receivers in multiple settings. Sanders had his two best throwing days Friday and Saturday, which were also his busiest days in competitive situations. He's no longer getting the fewest reps, and though he's at the back of the line in early-practice drills, he has taken some series with the No. 2 offensive line versus No. 2 defense. When Sanders is on, he's accurate and able to layer passes to allow the intended target the best chance to catch it and gain yards. He's still not receiving any reps with the No. 1 offense or against the No. 1 defense, but he's also getting more opportunities than any No. 4 quarterback has in any previous camp situation. Following Sunday's first off day of camp for players, we'll see the Browns in full pads for the first time on Monday, and we'll be looking for changes to the quarterback order. Ahead of Pickett's injury, I wouldn't have expected drastic changes of any kind, at least not yet. Now, there's an extra layer of uncertainty — and maybe nervousness — as the rookies, at least temporarily, move closer to the top of the depth chart. Advertisement In an ideal situation, the competition would be at or near its end for the Browns' Aug. 13-14 joint practices in Philadelphia with the Eagles — and a starter would be named ahead of or during the final week of the preseason when Cleveland hosts the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 23. Flacco has been up first in team drills on the days he's something close to a full participant. Six practices remain before the Browns' Aug. 6 joint session with the Carolina Panthers. If Flacco is first on the practice days that include heavier work, I'll take that as the first clue, but for now, everything remains a bit of a guess. Gabriel's two best days of the spring were the final two days of minicamp, and that seemed to carry over to the first two days of training camp. Now that Sanders appears to have found a rhythm, we'll see this week if he can continue to throw it well. For the first three days, the 7-on-7 reps were nearly equal. Flacco and Sanders got the most 7-on-7 work Saturday, and that's the only competitive situation Flacco received that day. Since the spring, the Browns have held simultaneous 7-on-7 drills on two fields to maximize reps, something offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has termed 'two-spotting.' Generally, two-spot drills have Flacco and Pickett alternate with Gabriel ahead of Sanders on the second field. In Saturday's two-spot drill, Sanders got the second field to himself for 10 reps, Gabriel and Flacco shared the first field and Pickett didn't participate. After two of the four practices, the Browns have added an opportunity period for rookies and backups to get some extra 11-on-11 work. In both periods, Gabriel and Sanders have shared six reps equally. that Flacco zip 🫨@JoeFlacco | @luke_floriea2 — Cleveland Browns (@Browns) July 26, 2025 By unofficial count after four days (stressing unofficial, as things move quickly out there with action on multiple fields), the quarterback reps have gone as follows: Pickett: 18 reps in 7-on-7, 31 in competitive 11-on-11 situations (18 called passes) Flacco: 21 reps in 7-on-7, 13 in competitive 11-on-11 situations (eight passes) Gabriel: 20 reps in 7-on-7, 29 in competitive 11-on-11 situations (19 passes) Sanders: 26 reps in 7-on-7, 19 in competitive 11-on-11 situations (12 passes) Advertisement Deshaun Watson is with the four healthy competitors in meetings and other team activities. Watson was watching some of Saturday's practice from the weight room while he went through some rehab work. Watson's physically unable to perform designation keeps the door open for a potential return to action late in the 2025 season, but it's too early to know if Watson will be healthy enough and if the team would consider activating him at any point. Last week, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said the team is open to keeping four quarterbacks on its 53-man regular-season roster. However, he stressed that Cleveland is open to almost anything over the next several weeks. 'There can at times be a little bit of tension in terms of future versus present,' Berry said. 'But that's really not the way that we look at it. We look at it as, 'Hey, let's have all these guys out there, let's see how they perform. Let's see what their strengths and weaknesses are and build an offensive support system around the starter when Kevin (Stefanski) is ready to name it.' 'Kevin and I might be the only ones who talk more about the quarterback position than you all are throughout the next couple weeks, and it's something that we'll talk about consistently. I think you guys know us well enough that we work really well together in that regard. But at the end of the day, I trust him. I trust our coaching staff in terms of who they want to play. I think we'll get a lot more information over the next few weeks.' Pickett, on how he can win the job: 'Consistency. I think that's what the coaches are looking for — the guy that's consistent, that's the same guy every day that they can count on. They can call any play and they know that we'll get them out of a bad play. If the shot is called and it's not there, we'll check it down. Just good quarterback play that can help this team win games, because that's what it's all about. We're all here to win and that's all, that's all I'm concerned about.' Flacco, on his overall approach: 'I'm as determined as ever to just be the best quarterback that I can be. It's so easy — and I'm guilty of it — to look ahead and picture yourself as the starter and hearing that news and things like that. But (early) in camp, I think the best thing for me is to just stay in the moment and come out here and have fun and compete, just do what I love to do. I think that's going to be the best way for me to show what I can do, and all that stuff. I think there's a lot of self-motivation in order to be good at this in this league, and that's always there. So, I'm just going to continue to approach it like I always do.' Gabriel, on growth regardless of situation: 'I've said multiple times how I view competition is I just (try to) beat myself from yesterday. 'How can I be better than I was yesterday?' And I think when you have that focus, it's going to make everyone better. It's going to make your team better, it's going to make our run better. And that's all I can do, control what I can control. And any time you think outside of that, you're not serving the moment.' Advertisement Sanders, on his focus at the start of camp: 'I would say just learning. Every day I'm learning different things because I know the opportunity will come whenever it comes. I want to be able to know the ins and outs (of the offense) and know the full everything. So, I don't want to really make too many mistakes when it's my time.' My stab at predicting the Week 1 starter: Flacco: 75 percent Pickett: 20 percent, but just partially due to the injury uncertainty. Flacco has been in this offense and this locker room before. Any other outcome: 5 percent It's impossible to know much of anything at this point, so I certainly wouldn't try to predict anything beyond that. I feel zero urgency from the folks in charge to treat Sanders as anything but a talented, developmental-type prospect, and I truly believe the team is open to multiple scenarios — internally and externally — depending on how things go in August. Stay tuned. We might know more about how Stefanski and his staff view things by the time the Browns head to Carolina.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
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In retrospect, those offenses were basically required not to implode. The 2025 Ravens are different, but not perfect. They still need to upgrade their special teams with a kicker and a punt returner, and it remains to be seen whether the secondary can improve after making significant offseason additions. But this offense, oh my. It's almost flawless. The Ravens have a two-time Most Valuable Player in quarterback Lamar Jackson, who passed for 4,172 yards and 41 touchdowns last season and also rushed for another 915 yards and four more scores. They have one of the best big, multi-purpose backs in league history in Derrick Henry, who rushed for 1,921 yards last season, second in the NFL behind the Philadelphia Eagles' Saquon Barkley. Even the receivers are good despite the team's previous failures to find one in the draft. The Ravens have 'super vet' DeAndre Hopkins, Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers as well as tight ends Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar. Whom does Jackson throw to? Anybody he wants. The only problem for offensive coordinator Todd Monken is finding enough touches for so many playmakers. The offensive line isn't great, but there aren't many that are in the NFL. This group struggles with pass blocking, but that's where Jackson provides the added dimension with his scrambling. This offense is loaded, pure and simple, equipped with a tempo-changing running back in Keaton Mitchell as well as a third-down specialist in Justice Hill. The scenario on the other side of the ball is different, but the possibilities are endless. The secondary should be improved from a year ago when the group was ranked 31st out of 32 teams. The Ravens made significant improvement in the second half of the season but also faced some bad quarterbacks such as the Pittsburgh Steelers' Russell Wilson (twice), the New York Giants' Tommy DeVito and the Cleveland Browns' Bailey Zappe. To increase the talent level, the Ravens drafted Georgia safety Malaki Starks in the first round and signed free agent cornerback Jaire Alexander in June. Alexander was a Pro Bowl selection in 2020 and 2022 with the Green Bay Packers, but injuries have forced him to miss 20 games during the past two seasons. If Alexander returns to form, defensive coordinator Zach Orr has a lot of combinations he can play on the backend with safety Kyle Hamilton near the line of scrimmage, rising cornerback Nate Wiggins on the outside opposite Chidobe Awuzie or Alexander and veteran Marlon Humphrey manning the slot. With Chuck Pagano helping coach the secondary, this group should be better complementing a run defense that was ranked No. 1 in the league a year ago. Nose tackle Michael Pierce retired, but the team has an ample supply of bulk up front with linemen John Jenkins, Nnamdi Madubuike, Broderick Washington, Travis Jones and rookie Aeneas Peebles. What's missing? They don't have a proven kicker. Justin Tucker, perhaps the best in league history, was released in early May and later suspended for the first 10 games of the season for violating the league's personal conduct policy after more than a dozen female massage therapists accused Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior at several Baltimore-area spas and wellness centers. Sixth-round pick Tyler Loop and undrafted rookie John Hoyland are competing for the job now. Tucker and Matt Stover made major contributions in both of the Ravens' championship seasons. Tucker converted 30 of 33 field goal attempts in 2012, and Stover was 35 of 39 in 2000 when Baltimore went five games without scoring an offensive touchdown. Another missing ingredient is the return game. In 2000, the Ravens had Jermaine Lewis, who averaged 16.1 yards per punt returns. Lewis also had an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second half of the Ravens' 34-7 win against the Giants in the Super Bowl. In 2012, Jacoby Jones led the NFL with 1,167 kickoff return yards and scored two touchdowns. There are other intangibles. In 2000, quarterback Trent Dilfer was conservative but was a great game manager. In 2012, quarterback Joe Flacco had one of the greatest postseasons ever, tying Joe Montana's record with 11 touchdown passes without an interception. The Ravens need to get hot. In 2000, then-coach Brian Billick went with running back Jamal Lewis down the stretch as Lewis finished with 1,364 yards to complement the record-setting defense. Flacco was exceptional in 2012. Jackson needs to get hot in the postseason, where he is 3-5 during his eight years in Baltimore. In those eight games, he's passed for 1,753 yards and 10 touchdowns but has thrown seven interceptions and lost three fumbles. There is also the Ray Lewis factor. Not only was he the best player in the NFL in 2000, but his personality energized the Ravens, especially the younger players in 2012. Without Lewis, the Ravens don't win either of their two titles. The Hall of Fame linebacker's absence has been hard to fill. After the 2012 season, Ravens coach John Harbaugh got rid of the alpha males such as Lewis, Reed, safety Bernard Pollard and receiver Anquan Boldin, which forced the team into mediocrity for the next five seasons. Those years coincided with the early seasons in Baltimore when the Ravens didn't have enough cash flow to compete on both sides of the ball until Steve Bisciotti became a minority owner in 2000. But now they are back on pace again. Only one team has more overall talent than the Ravens, and that's Philadelphia. The defending champion Eagles can dominate with both interior lines, but they play in the NFC, so the AFC is a wide-open race. The expectations in Baltimore are justified, even though that might serve as both motivation and a distraction. But there are no more excuses for the Ravens to miss the Super Bowl, because this team is loaded. It's easily the most balanced in franchise history. It's time for them to play in a third Super Bowl. ____
