Mike Florio ,
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When Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel exited Sunday’s game against the Ravens at halftime with a concussion, Cleveland led, 16-10. When Shedeur Sanders made his debut in the second half of the game, the Ravens outscored the Browns in the final two quarters, 13-0.
Along the way, Sanders completed four of 16 passes for 47 yards and an interception. His passer rating was 13.5.
It’s no surprise. It was his first game. He was thrust into action against a solid defense with a surging team.
Making the performance even less surprising is the fact that, as coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed after the game, Sanders had a total of zero practice reps with the first-team offense. At any point this season.
“You’re always trying to get your starter ready to play and certainly, when your starter is a rookie, those are very valuable reps,” Stefanski said when asked why Sanders hadn’t gotten first-team practice reps. “When your backup is a rookie also, you do everything in your power to get our quarterbacks as many reps as possible. Post practice, after practice, extra meeting time. So that’s just part of how it goes. But the bottom line is we trust both of our players. We trust all of our players because of the work that they put in.”
Still, that’s what happens when a team drafts two rookies and feels compelled to keep both of them. There’s not much of a veteran presence, beyond Bailey Zappe. Kenny Pickett was traded. Joe Flacco was traded. The Browns have little choice but to trust unproven and inexperienced players.
If they hadn’t handed Flacco to the Bengals, the Browns would have been able to hand him a six-point halftime lead against his long-time former team. And they may have gotten a win on Sunday.
This assumes they wanted one. This is an organization that, for the past decade, has continuously been building for a future that never comes to fruition. That’s why they traded Pickett. That’s why the traded Flacco. That’s why they’re hoping to eventually flip Gabriel or Sanders for something more than what they gave up to get them.
It’s all part of stoking vague hopes for a brighter tomorrow at the expense of a dreary today. The only problem is that tomorrow for the Browns rarely ends up being anything more than blustery.
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