BEREA, Ohio – If Shedeur Sanders is frustrated about not receiving any snaps with the first team during the first week of the Cleveland Browns’ training camp, he isn’t showing it.
Sanders said on Friday that it is out of his control and not his place to answer why he has worked mainly with the third and fourth teams during the first three days of practice.
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“I’m not even going to think about that or have that even in my thought process of why it is,” Sanders said. “It doesn’t make me feel down or it doesn’t make me feel left out or anything because I know who I am as a person. I know who I am as an individual, and I know what I could bring to this team.”
Sanders — selected by the Browns in the fifth round after a precipitous fall in April’s draft — did get some work with the second team for the first time on Friday. He had one of the best throws of the 80-minute practice on a completion down the middle to tight end Blake Whiteheart during 11-on-11 drills.
Sanders showed he could bounce back after a bad day of practice. He was unable to throw a pass during a four-play red zone drill on Thursday after snap issues on two plays, a false start, and what would have been a sack.
“I know whenever I get my opportunity, I’ve got to maximize it,” he said. “I just got to think about what I could do to get better even if I’m not getting reps.”
Coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t say if Sanders would receive any first-team snaps. Stefanski did note, though, that he has been happy with Sanders’ progress over the past couple of months.
“Yeah, I think Shedeur does a nice job of keeping the main thing, the main thing. He’s working hard and keeping his head down,” Stefanski said.
There have been 13 sets of 11-on-11 drills during the first three days. Joe Flacco has had the most work with the first team with seven, Kenny Pickett has had five and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel one.
Flacco and Pickett are the two main combatants in the four-man competition to see who will be the starter for the Sept. 7 opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
All four are getting plenty of snaps on the two practice fields, but there is a difference in who they are working with.
Sanders said the one advantage of not getting many snaps is that he has had the opportunity to learn more in-depth about everything instead of on the fly like he did at Jackson State and Colorado, where his father, Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, instantly made him the starter.
Shedeur Sanders added that the area where he has made the most improvement is being more comfortable with the playbook.
“It’s always consistent growth, and it always feels like I just solved a puzzle or anything, like, all the time,” he said.
Quarterback coach Bill Musgrave — who was Deion Sanders’ teammate during San Francisco’s Super Bowl-winning season in 1994 — has been impressed with Sanders’ ability to call the play in the huddle as well as calling plays under center. He also added he has seen the same progress from Gabriel, a third-round pick.
When it comes to the outside pressures Sanders might face — including heightened expectations from fans — Musgrave said that everyone has pressure, but the approach has to remain the same.
“The focus has got to be on the techniques, the five-step drop, the seven-step drop, being accurate with our throws,” Musgrave said. “If we can focus on our trade, the external factors take a back seat, which is where they should remain.”
While some may waver from the expectations, Sanders has embraced them. He has made a couple of appearances in the Cleveland area, including hosting a community event to benefit residents displaced after an apartment complex fire.
He also accepted responsibility for two speeding tickets last month. However, things that are happening off the field are the last thing on Sanders’ mind over the next five weeks.
“The external is cool. I’m thankful for it,” he said. “But hey, when I get out there, I’m not thinking about external. I’m thinking about more, in the organization, thinking about getting the play calls, executing my job, and doing what I’ve got to do.”
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