After making a memorable impression in his NFL preseason debut, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders had to sit and watch as his competition—fellow rookie QB Dillon Gabriel—also put on an impressive performance in his debut as well.
Gabriel, who led Oregon to a 13-1 record and appearance in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, completed 13 of 18 passes for 143 yards and an interception in Cleveland’s 22-13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.
“We have plenty to clean up,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said of Gabriel’s performance, via NJ.com. “There are some things that I thought he did well. I thought our offense as a whole on third down was very good early, which allowed us to stay on the field because I don’t think we were great on first and second down.”
While the consensus among most analysts was that Sanders actually played better than Gabriel, some are still convinced Sanders’ has an uphill battle if he’s going to take Gabriel’s spot on Cleveland’s roster.
Sanders has been harshly criticized more than arguably any other player this offseason, and if there’s anyone who can relate to what the 23-year-old QB is going through right now, it’s former Browns QB Johnny Manziel.
Though Manziel was a first-round pick back in 2014 and Sanders is a fifth-rounder, both were extremely accomplished college QBs who entered the league with arguably more buzz surrounding them than anyone else from their respective draft classes.
Despite Manziel’s NFL career fizzling out after just two seasons, the former Heisman Trophy winner doesn’t want to see Sanders experience a similar fate, which is why during a recent interview with USA Today, Manziel offered Sanders some sage advice.
“Looking at it from an outside perspective, somebody that obviously has ties to Cleveland — just keep going, keep balling, keep trying to get better,” Manziel told USA Today. “Eventually his day’s going to come to where he is the starter there and hopefully he can make the most of it and he’s got people excited.”
But Gabriel isn’t the only signal-caller Sanders has to worry about.
Former Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco is expected to be named Cleveland’s QB1, and Kenny Pickett, who’s been the Browns No. 2 QB for all of training camp, is expected to stay directly behind Flacco on the depth chart despite not practicing much after suffering a hamstring injury at the start of camp.
Which means Sanders, Gabriel and recently signed veteran Tyler Huntley are seemingly battling it out for one position.
With just one more preseason game remaining, Stefanski admitted he wants to decide who his starting quarterback and backups will be so there’s no uncertainty hanging over anyone’s head before the team’s final preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.
“I want to get through the next couple of days, but certainly [naming a starter is] something that we’re going to do here sooner than later,” Stefanski told reporters on Sunday.
