A former NFL star made a rather negative prediction about where Shedeur Sanders stands in the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback battle.
In an appearance on the “Nightcap” podcast, former Bengals wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh said he had heard negative things about Sanders’ work in minicamp. Houshmandzadeh implied that Sanders’ success came against third- and fourth-string defenders, and that Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett are outperforming the rest of the group.
“I was told from somebody that is in the building that ain’t a player, it’s really coming down to Kenny Pickett or Dillon Gabriel,” Houshmandzadeh said, via Thomas Gamba-Ellis of the New York Post. “That’s what I was told. But now when you get the reports that Shedeur’s completing seven out of nine passes — is it against starters? Or is it against the threes and the fours, the guys that are going to get released?
“So it seems impressive when you see the graphic, but is it really if it’s not against the starters or guys that are going to be on the team?”
Houshmandzadeh is not the first person to speak highly of Pickett, though there have also been claims that Joe Flacco is the frontrunner to start right now. Either way, it does seem like Sanders faces an uphill climb to win the job as he gets a mixed reception in camp.
Sanders has probably not helped his case with some of his off-field behavior. Ultimately, the Browns seem unlikely to start a rookie in Week 1. But it would bode particularly poorly for Sanders if he fell behind Gabriel in the pecking order.
