Shedeur Sanders had a rocky NFL debut with the Cleveland Browns, and his mother didn’t hesitate to call out the team for the limited practice reps he received leading up to the game.
Sanders entered the Week 11 matchup at halftime in relief of Dillon Gabriel, who exited with a concussion. The former Colorado standout completed just four passes for 47 yards and threw an interception in the 23-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
During the game, his mom, Pilar Sanders, voiced her support for her son on social media, while also taking a clear shot at the Browns for how he was prepared.
“Do your thang! Work with what you’ve got! … NFL DEBUT!” Pilar Sanders said on Instagram. “Never any first round reps. … This is wild to say the least.”
The chatter around Sanders lack of reps in practice has been a talking point. But Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said the team has done its best trying to prepare two rookie quarterbacks every week.
“You’re always trying to get your starter ready to play and certainly, when your starter is a rookie, those are very valuable reps. When your starter, when your backup is a rookie also, you do everything in your power to get our quarterbacks as many reps as possible,” Stefanski said. “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.”
Sanders has taken accountability for his poor debut. But he also referenced that he did not have much chemistry with the starting offense.
“I don’t think I played good,” Sanders said. “I don’t think I played good at all. I think there’s a lot of things we need to look at during the week and go and just get comfortable with even throwing routes with [wide receiver] Jerry [Jeudy] and throwing routes with all those guys. I think that was my first ball to him all year. But other than that, I just think overall, we just got to go next week and understand, so that we have a week to prepare stuff I like to do.”
Many former players have weighed in on the debate over Sanders’ lack of work with the first-team offense in practice. That includes former Browns backup Luke McCown, who faced a similar situation to Sanders back in 2004. He said that what Cleveland is doing is typical and not some kind of slight to Sanders.
“Yes it stinks that that’s the situation (Sanders) came into. I’ve been there, LITERALLY, with the Browns, as a rookie, as a mid round pick. So have many other rookies.. you play, you learn and grow and get better.. or you don’t,” McCown wrote on X. “Absolutely reps help, Absolutely he’ll be better with a full week of prep. But those are the hands as backups we’re dealt, and in those moments and we have to make the most of them.”
Gabriel’s status for Sunday remains uncertain, potentially setting the stage for Sanders to make his first NFL start — this time with a full week of first-team reps as he prepares to face the Las Vegas Raiders.
When it comes to a team like the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, any sort of drama can be hard to find.
In the case of the 2025 version of the Eagles, it comes down to the little things if we’re looking for weaknesses. One of those has been one of the outside cornerback spots opposite Quinyon Mitchell.
Right now, it could be one of 3 players with free agent signee Adoree Jackson, 2023 fourth round pick Kelee Ringo and Jakorian Bennett, who the Eagles acquired in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders on August 4.
With no one creating separation, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks the Eagles should explore another trade — this time for a former first round pick with Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II in exchange for a conditional 2026 fourth round pick.
“Newsome is set to play on the fifth-year option and will be a free agent in 2026,” Knox wrote on September 3. “He’s played well at times for the Browns — he allowed an opposing passer rating of just 74.8 in 2023 — but not well enough to earn a lucrative extension. Injuries have also prevented the 25-year-old from playing more than 15 games in any one season.”
While Newsome hasn’t been able to snag a big payday yet — in relative terms — he could very well land a massive contract if he plays well in 2025.
The biggest indication of his capability to do so comes from the Browns, who will pay him approximately $13.3 million this season on the fifth-year option of his 4-year, $12.7 million rookie contract.
Newsome, 6-foot and 192 pounds, solidified his draft stock after an All-American season at Northwestern in 2020 by running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine. He also had a 40-inch vertical leap and knocked out 18 reps in the 225-pound bench press.
The Browns selected Newsome at No. 26 overall in the 2021 NFL draft. He was a plug and play starter as a rookie but missed 5 games due to injuries. While Newsome hasn’t had a major injury in his career, he’s never played a full season due to injuries — he missed 2 games in 2022, 3 games in 2023 and 4 games in 2024.
If Newsome does get traded, it’s a move that would likely come after the first month of the season. The Browns went 3-14 in 2024 and should be one of the NFL’s worst teams again in 2025.
Once the season gets out of control it’s not unreasonable to expect them to start looking for deals that bring them draft picks.
The Eagles have one distinct advantage — if they don’t make another move they already have one of the NFL’s elite secondaries despite the loss of veterans off last year’s Super Bowl winning team like Darius Slay and C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Both Mitchell and fellow second year star and nickelback Cooper DeJean are already considered 2 of the NFL’s best at their positions.
Safety Reed Blankenship is entering his third season as a full time starter. Rookie safety Andrew Mukuba, a second round pick, has already earned a starting spot and looked like he has star potential in the preseason.