Tag: Shedeur

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) throws a pass in the first quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.

Deion Sanders: Son ‘went through hell’ as Browns rookie

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Shedeur Sanders “went through hell” during the draft process and his 2025 rookie season with the Browns, according to his father.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders blamed what he said was untruthful reporting during his interview with “The Barbershop” posted on YouTube on Thursday.

“When he takes off his shirt, I see the scars on his back that he’s been through hell, but he’s made it through hell,” Deion Sanders said of his son, a quarterback. “He kept going and he matured, not like he was a child, but he matured spiritually,” he said.

The 24-year-old Shedeur, he added, came to understand, “You can’t force this. If it ain’t your time, it ain’t your time.”

Considered a first-round prospect heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders slipped to Day 3 when Cleveland finally took him in the fifth round (144th overall).

“It was some ignorant things came out about him predraft and all that, and that was a lie,” Deion Sanders said. “Like, he would never go into a meeting with headphones on. He would never go into a meeting unprepared. Like, that’s just not who he is. There’s no way he could accomplish the things he accomplished without being prepared.”

Deion Sanders said the negative reporting continued in Cleveland.

“A lot of things that was said … it bothered me, but it didn’t bother him,” he said. “He just wanted the opportunity to get on the grass and do his thing.”

Shedeur Sanders started seven games as a rookie, completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 169 yards and one TD and earned a Pro Bowl invitation.

Deion Sanders said he wants to meet with new Browns coach Todd Monken to discuss his son’s development, having coached him in high school and in college.

“I want to meet him because I think it’s vital that as a coach, not the dad, I can tell him a few things about (Shedeur), how to get him going,” Deion Sanders said. “That wasn’t asked of me a year ago. I don’t understand it. Even a guy like Travis Hunter being drafted to Jacksonville and I’ve had him for the last three (years), don’t you think you would want to talk to me to ask me what gets him going and what backs him off? You would want to know that.

“So, I anticipate, and I can’t wait to have that conversation with Coach Monken.”

The Browns enter the offseason with four quarterbacks on the roster with Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Deshaun Watson and 2026 sixth-round pick Taylen Green out of Arkansas.

–Field Level Media

Shedeur Sanders wins first start as Browns sack Raiders 10 times

Posted on | by Field Level Media

LAS VEGAS — In his first career NFL start, highly publicized rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders did just enough to push the Cleveland Browns to their first road win of the season with a 24-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

Sanders mostly stayed out of trouble in his debut, completing 11 of 20 for 209 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The 23-year-old threw his first career touchdown pass with 8:18 remaining in the fourth quarter, connecting with running back Dylan Sampson on a screen pass that Sampson promptly ran 66 yards into the end zone.

The star of the show throughout Sunday’s game, however, was Cleveland’s defensive front. The Browns tallied 10 sacks, completely stifling a Raiders offense that has struggled to find a rhythm all season.

Due largely to the constant pressure from the Browns’ pass rush, Raiders quarterback Geno Smith seemed unable to deliver a timely throw throughout the game. Wide receiver Tre Tucker created separation and was open deep downfield multiple times, and each time Smith’s throw sailed past his target.

All in all, Smith completed 30 of 44 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown in the loss. He managed to avoid extending his league-leading interception total, but the frustration was all the same. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty had another inefficient afternoon on the ground, gaining just 50 yards on 17 carries for an average of 2.9 yards per carry.

Sanders’ most impressive play was a 52-yard completion to fellow rookie Isaiah Bond that set up Cleveland’s second touchdown. Sanders escaped the Raiders’ pass rush and threw a deep pass rolling right that traveled around 55 yards in the air before being caught. Judkins capped the drive with his second rushing touchdown out of the wildcat formation from two yards out.

The Raiders’ scoring output was a 41-yard field goal from kicker Daniel Carlson in the second quarter and a late five-yard connection from Smith to Jeanty in fourth-quarter garbage time. The field goal was set up by Sanders’ only glaring mistake of the game, an ill-advised pass that was intercepted by Raiders defensive end Charles Snowden.

The Browns opened the scoring on an eight-yard touchdown run by rookie Quinshon Judkins out of the wildcat formation. Judkins’ touchdown wrapped up a short two-play, 13-yard drive that was set up by a 44-yard punt return by Gage Larvadain with an additional 14 yards tacked on due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Raiders punter AJ Cole at the end of the play.

Judkins finished with 47 yards on 16 carries in addition to those two touchdowns.

— Will Despart, Field Level Media

Home of Browns QB Shedeur Sanders burglarized during debut

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Ohio home of Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders was burglarized and three suspects made off with about $200,000 in stolen property this weekend, local police revealed Tuesday.

The Medina County sheriff’s office said in a news release that the trio of suspects entered Sanders’ residence at approximately 6:46 p.m. local time Sunday, wearing masks and gloves. Surveillance camera footage showed them exiting the home about 12 minutes later with property, the nature of which the police did not detail.

The theft happened while Sanders was with his team — playing in his first NFL game against the visiting Baltimore Ravens after fellow rookie and starting QB Dillon Gabriel left with a concussion.

“Any information regarding this should be directed to Captain Eric Bors,” the sheriff’s office said in the release.

Sanders went 4-of-16 passing for 47 yards and an interception in his NFL debut. He may make his first professional start this Sunday at the Las Vegas Raiders if Gabriel remains in concussion protocol.

Sanders, the 23-year-old son of Deion Sanders, has had a difficult year since plummeting to the fifth round of the NFL draft in April. He began his Browns tenure as the team’s fourth-string quarterback before they offloaded veterans Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco.

The incident is also the latest in a high-profile string of home burglaries targeting star athletes this year, including Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers.

–Field Level Media

Sep 14, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) during the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Browns not considering QB change despite Joe Flacco’s struggles

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Cleveland Browns are 0-2 and have scored just 33 total points so far, but coach Kevin Stefanski claimed that the team isn’t considering a change at quarterback.

Joe Flacco started the first two games of the season and has not been effective. Late in Sunday’s 41-17 road blowout at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, he was replaced by rookie Dillon Gabriel, who led a touchdown drive.

Asked if the Browns will think about a permanent change, Stefanski answered in the negative.

“I don’t think we did good enough. I think that collectively as a team, we as an offense, we as the coaching staff, all of us didn’t do a good enough job,” Stefanski said.

Flacco, 40, finished the day 25-for-45 passing for 199 yards — just 4.4 yards per attempt — with one touchdown and one interception. He also lost a fumble. He had 290 passing yards and a touchdown in a Week 1 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals but was picked off twice.

Gabriel, 24, made his NFL debut in the fourth quarter and completed all three of his passes for 19 yards, the last one an 8-yard touchdown to Dylan Sampson.

Gabriel is the second-string quarterback on Cleveland’s depth chart, and Shedeur Sanders is the third-stringer. Both were taken in the middle rounds of the NFL draft this past April.

Flacco, who was given the starting job in camp at the outset of his 18th NFL season, said he can’t worry about his job security.

“It’s honestly not on my mind,” Flacco said. “I got to go out there and just play my game, play the way I know how to. Lead this team the best I can. All that other stuff, it is out of my control. It is what it is. I mean, the only thing I can control is how I play and how this team shows up every day. So, it really isn’t in the thought process.”

–Field Level Media