by: Grant Grubbs 24 minutes ago grant_grubbs_
In April, Shedeur Sanders suffered a shocking draft slide, ultimately falling to the Cleveland Browns with the No. 144 overall pick. However, on Sunday NFL Countdown , ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed Sanders could’ve gone earlier in the draft , but wasn’t interested in playing for the team that wanted him.
“A consensus had been headed. The Baltimore Ravens were planning to select Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round with the 141st overall selection,” Schefter said. “But, when he found out, he got word back to the Ravens that he preferred not to go to a place where he’d be competing and backing up Lamar Jackson. He wanted to be in a place that he could play.
“When the Ravens got that message, they pivoted, went a different direction with the 141st overall selection. And three picks later, the Cleveland Browns selected Shedeur Sanders, who will be in Baltimore today, where he could have been spending his NFL career if he were willing to back up Lamar Jackson.”
While Sanders went to Cleveland with hopes of receiving more playing time, he hasn’t played a regular-season snap yet for the Browns. He is the team’s third-string quarterback behind starter Joe Flacco and backup Dillon Gabriel .
Sanders impressed during his preseason debut. In a 30-10 win over the Panthers, Sanders completed 14-of-his-23 pass attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns, without throwing an interception.
He missed the Browns’ following preseason game due to an oblique injury. When he played in the team’s final preseason contest, he wasn’t the starter and came in as the final QB in the rotation.
In fairness, Flacco looked solid in the Browns’ season-opener against the Bengals. In the narrow loss, Flacco completed 31 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown. The veteran QB threw two interceptions, but they weren’t necessarily bad passes.