“He’s working. We want all our guys to keep stacking good days,” Kevin Stefanski said when asked about Shedeur Sanders‘ development. He kept it simple. No hype. No headlines. And ever since his draft slide, Sanders has done one thing in Berea—command attention. OTAs to mandatory minicamp, the kid’s been spinning it like he’s got something to prove. And honestly? He does. But it’s not just the fans taking notice. Coaches, teammates, and even NFL royalty have been talking.
Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson spilled the vibe last month. “I talked to ‘some people,’ and (Shedeur) looked different,” he revealed. “There’s a difference when that young bull is out there spinning that ball, you hear me?” Fast forward to now, and something shifted. Despite turning heads in practices and despite Kenny Pickett’s injury, Shedeur’s starting job is still uncertain.
And that’s exactly why Chad Johnson thinks Jimmy Haslam and the Browns are trying to break Shedeur Sanders by making him wait it out. On Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Joe Johnson, things got real. When Sharpe went off, wondering out loud why Haslam even drafted the kid, Ochocinco didn’t flinch. He had his own theory. “You know what they trying to do? You know what they trying to do?” He wondered. “Trying to break, trying to break him. They use the draft.”
“Okay, we trying to break him. We going to make him wait. Okay, now he’s here. He’s doing everything he’s supposed to do. Doing everything he’s supposed to do. Plus the extra. Then, okay, how can we break him down? He’s out here playing very well. I told you. I told you. Hey, listen, my ears over there now. My ears over and a** over there. I don’t need to be there to see and hear. Stay with me now.
“So, what do we do now? He’s playing well, he’s got the offense down, he’s not making too many mistakes. He’s throwing touchdowns, whether he’s running with the ones, the twos, the threes, and the fours. So, what do we do now? The owner has to come out and try to break it again. Break the spirit a little bit.” Shedeur’s draft slide? It’s old news by now. What really got folks talking was what came next. Early in the offseason, he was clearly playing catch-up.
NFL, American Football Herren, USA Cleveland Browns Rookie Minicamp May 9, 2025 Berea, OH, USA Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders 12 throws a pass during rookie minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Berea CrossCountry Mortgage Campus OH USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKenxBlazex 20250509_kab_bk4_045
While Dillon Gabriel was already handling the grown-up stuff, Shedeur was still finding the rhythm. Motion, audibles, pressure reads… all that pre-snap chaos? It didn’t come easily at first. The result seemed palpable: he was often isolated with backups while fellow quarterbacks took reps with starters. But the grind paid off. During the spring’s final stretch, Shedeur turned heads.
He went 41-of-53 with nine touchdowns and just one interception. The writing was on the wall: Shedeur worked hard at the OTAs and minicamp and became a legit contender for the starting quarterback role entering the training camp. But Ochocinco believes that even if Shedeur works hard and cements his name as the QB1 contender, the Browns’ owner will try to break him. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but that’s what the NFL legend observed.
Shedeur Sanders keeps stealing the show at Browns’ camp
Just like the OTAs and the minicamp, Shedeur Sanders had a slow start at the training camp as well. Day 1? Kenny Pickett got all the first-team snaps, while Shedeur was relegated to the third-team unit. Day 2? Joe Flacco and Pickett got the first-team snaps, and Shedeur shared the second-team snaps with Gabriel. And the same pattern continued for a while until Pickett got sidelined due to an injury. It was time for Shedeur to get some meaningful snaps.
On day 7 of the camp, the rookie quarterback finally looked more comfortable, taking reps against the Browns’ first-team defense. It wasn’t a practice test set up to make him look good. Yet he handled it well, made smart plays, and showed confidence. The highlight of the day? A perfectly-timed slant pass to Gage Larvadain that showed he’s learning how to manipulate defenders.
He wasn’t perfect, sure. He missed a throw or two, but overall, he impressed his coaches. A couple of days back, the quarterback uncorked a deep strike to Luke Floriea for a score, then came back and threaded a dart to Diontae Johnson in the red zone for another TD. Two drives, two very different throws. But both screamed confidence. Taken all together, Shedeur Sanders is grinding to grab the QB1 spot. Will he? Won’t he? Or is he going to break down? That we shall see.
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