Shedeur Sanders walked to the podium on Wednesday with a different tone than he’d shown a couple of weeks earlier. This time, the Browns quarterback opened by apologizing to reporters after coming across as short in a previous media session.
According to NFL broadcast personality Andrew Siciliano, Sanders started his availability with, “First, I want to apologize on how I was last time I came up here before y’all,”
Sanders said the clipped answers from two weeks ago came after he’d grown tired of discussing the quarterback battle in public. He said he wanted to “save his energy” for what happens on the field and felt “drained” from all the talk surrounding his competition with Deshaun Watson for the Browns’ QB1 job.
He also addressed a hand issue that had followed him through part of camp. Sanders said the blister began this offseason after he got back into throwing again.
“No that happened this past offseason getting back into it, just from throwing a lot,” Shedeur revealed (via PFT). “Honestly, that’s where it came from.
And it’s all headed up now. But that was a thing, I would say, at the start of training camp and everything that we just had to work through and be able to figure out.”
Sanders added that the blister is no longer bothering him now.
The second-year quarterback is expected to see plenty of action in Cleveland’s preseason opener against the Bears on Saturday, giving him his first official chance to stake his claim as the leader of Todd Monken’s offense.
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One of the more intriguing possibilities being floated is Pittsburgh, where a quarterback opening could emerge after Aaron Rodgers. Pro Football Talks Mike Florio has mentioned the Steelers as a possible fit, and for Browns fans, even the hint of Mayfield ending up in an AFC North rival is the kind of storyline that never really goes away. [Read more 🡒]
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Browns QB Plan Raises A Bigger Deshaun Watson Question
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The structure also says something about how carefully the Browns are approaching this stretch, since each passer will be working under similar conditions while the staff compares their command, rhythm and comfort in game action. Watsons place in that mix remains the bigger storyline around the team, and the preseason usage only adds another layer to a conversation Cleveland has been carrying into August. [Read more 🡒]