Why not Shedeur Sanders if the Browns pull Joe Flacco?

The Cleveland Browns have floundered on offense this year. It’s not like the offense can’t get started. In the last contest against the Detroit Lions, one of the NFL’s best teams, the Browns took the ball on their first possession and, after 13 plays that took up 7:10 off the clock, they scored on a one-yard dive by rookie RB Quinshon Judkins.

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That drive appeared like Cleveland’s offense could drive the field all the time in every game successfully. The truth is, the Browns offense rarely has long, successful drives at any point of a game during each of its four games so far. The offense just can’t get started, while their punter just might become the group’s MVP.

The running game isn’t gaining yardage. The passing attack has minimal effect. Overall, the Browns’ offense is ranked #26. They average 279.8 yards per game and have the league’s 24^th most yards, and are middle of the pack in passing yardage and #29 in total rushing yards.

Total points? 56. Ranked #30. Average points per game? 14.0. Ranked #31. The offense hasn’t cracked the 20-point plateau yet.

QB Joe Flacco is ranked #18 in total passing yards (815), #43 in average yards per attempt (5.1), #2 in attempts (160), #4 with completions (93), #34 in completion percentage (58.1), just two TD passes against six interceptions (ranked #2), #20 in passes that covert into first downs, and sacked nine times (#8).

The overall passing attack is ranked #20, but that’s okay because the run game is ranked #29.

To be fair, both starting offensive tackles have been injured, and their backups have been inserted. Neither Cornelius Lucas nor KT Leveston has been good. Because of a suspect O-Line, the Browns haven’t been able to run or give Flacco any time to throw.

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Rewind to 2023.

The Browns were having issues at quarterback with Deshaun Watson. Backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson wasn’t getting it done after Watson became injured. The team signed Flacco, who was at home mowing his grass or cooking dinner when his agent called.

Flacco then started five regular-season games and got Cleveland into the playoffs as the highest Wild Card seed.

In those five contests, the Browns scored 19, 31, 20, 36, and 37 points. Flacco threw for 254, 311, 374, 368, and 309 yards. The offense was fun to watch and scored often. At the end of the season, Flacco won the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year award. Cleveland fans were ecstatic about having an offense that could finally move the ball, as their defense was ranked #1 that season.

So, when Browns GM Andrew Berry inked Flacco to a contract this offseason, what had occurred in 2023 is what most Cleveland fans envisioned: 30+ points a game, 300-400 yards passing a game, the fun of winning, and getting back to the playoffs.

None of that has happened this time around for the 40-year-old quarterback.

His offensive line hasn’t performed well. He has two really good tight ends, but so far, none of the receivers have achieved much success or separation, for that matter. Which, even if they did, Flacco hasn’t had the time to see who is open when they do get open. And for the first three games, none of the running backs could do much. Perhaps that is about to change with Judkins’ decent game against the Lions.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski hasn’t fully committed to Flacco as the starter against the Minnesota Vikings but that seems likely with rookie Dillon Gabriel as the backup. Fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders has secured QB3, while Bailey Zappe is on the practice squad.

If Flacco and this offense aren’t moving the ball against the Vikings, what if the Browns inserted another quarterback instead? And what if it isn’t Gabriel?

The Shedeur effect

Every eye in the NFL has been watching the Browns quarterback situation since the beginning of training camp.

Not to see if Cleveland would name a guy in his 40s as their starting quarterback, or if Deshaun Watson would end up on IR, or if the Browns would retain a signal-caller that isn’t six feet tall. Nope, fans of the Browns, and folks who suddenly became fans of the Browns, wanted to see how Shedeur was doing.

In the end, the Cleveland coaches kept Sanders on their main roster. He has since been evaluated and is listed as the third QB. In two games so far, Gabriel has played in mop-up when the Browns were getting killed.

Meanwhile, in all four games, Shedeur was on the inactive game list. This means he can suit up, warm up, stand on the sidelines during games, go into the locker room at the half, and enter the field at the conclusion of the contest to say hello to friends and former teammates. He ultimately becomes the emergency quarterback. After being declared inactive, the only way he can play is if both Flacco and Gabriel become injured in that game.

What if Sanders was active for the Vikings game? And what if Stefanski sent him onto the field instead of Gabriel?

Fans of Sanders are expecting Superman to play. And they point to Shedeur as a superstar all bottled up and waiting to explode on the field, so what is the Browns coaching staff waiting for? Another 10-point game with the 142 passing yards Flacco had against the Green Bay Packers?

Opposing critics state that the coaching staff is around Sanders every day in practices, and is all they can base their decisions on. And so far, he hasn’t shown them any inclination that he can move an offense in a live game, and instead, at this juncture, requires development.

The public: The future is now

Fans of the Browns, and especially new fans of the Browns who came on board to root for Sanders, are making a statement that by simply starting Sanders and the coaching staff will be amazed by the results.

Of course, these are some of the same fans who wanted him to be under center in Week 1. After the bad loss against the Baltimore Ravens in the second game, it was rumored that Stefanski and OC Tommy Rees were considering a QB change. But not to Shedeur, instead to Gabriel.

When that news broke, Shedeur made a public statement to ESPN Cleveland:

“I know if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that.” 

Gabriel entered the Ravens contest down 41-10. He came in the fourth quarter with 4:43 remaining and started at his own 35. After three runs, including a 31-yard scamper by Judkins, Gabriel threw his first NFL pass – a six-yard completion to Jamari Thrash on a third-and-four situation. Isaiah Bond then secured another six-yard gain as the Browns were now on Baltimore’s 14-yard line. On the next play, Gabriel found RB Dylan Sampson for an eight-yard touchdown.

Gabriel’s stats were 3-3 for 19 yards, one TD without any turnovers, zero sacks, and a 132.6 QB rating. In the Detroit game, he was 0-1 without any other stats.

That is a small sample size of Gabriel. And besides, if Cleveland was bringing in some of their backups against Baltimore, doesn’t it make sense that the Ravens were already subbing in their second-string guys as well?

The Browns are already 1-3-0. They play the Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers next, which are two good teams. After that, their opponents are weaker, such as the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. What better way to test to see what they have in Shedeur than to stick him in a half and let him rip. Or dies trying.

If this season becomes a carbon copy of last year and finishes with double-digit losses, it will just become a matter of time before the Browns begin to insert both Gabriel and Sanders to see how they perform under game conditions and what their futures will look like.

Sanders is itching to gather the controls of a game and go with it. Fans also want to see what will happen.

What if the strenuous fans are correct? What if Sanders is this explosive quarterback being stymied by the coaching staff, just waiting to happen?

Brett Favre was a second-round draft pick stuck as the Atlanta Falcons’ #3 QB before a trade to Green Bay changed his career. In Tom Brady’s first training camp, he was listed as QB4. Bart Starr was taken in Round 17 and at the bottom of the depth chart when new head coach Vince Lombardi arrived. Brian Sipe was taken in Round 13, and yet became the Browns’ starting signal-caller for 10 years and started 112 games.

Everyone would find out

One thing about playing Sanders now is that, finally, everyone will know what his playing talents in the NFL are like.

If he plays like a superstar, then good for the Browns. Finally, the offense would move and finish drives, and punter Corey Bojorquez would no longer be considered the frontrunner for team Offensive Player of the Year.

If Sanders fails, then the coaches – whose job it is to analyze every player on their roster – will go back to their business of being coaches, and the answers they have been giving all along will become relevant, and things will quiet down until next year’s training camp.

Of course, Sanders thinks he is ready. Who wants a quarterback or an edge rusher or a shut-down cornerback who isn’t confident? We, as Browns fans, want Sanders to believe in himself and that he will one day join his famous father with a gold jacket fitting session and a bronze bust. Yes, we all want this for the younger Sanders.

So maybe, just maybe, stick him out there in the second half of a game and let’s see what happens.

Sanders stated:

“I don’t think playing [or] not playing is in my hands. Based on the situation, I’ll be out there and I’ll be ready to play. I’m ready to play right now.”

And it’s not like the Browns would become the first club this season to give up on their starting QB. The Falcons have already benched Michael Penix for a game and subbed in veteran Kirk Cousins. Look at fellow rookie Jaxson Dart taking over for Russell Wilson with the New York Football Giants.

Is Sanders this secret weapon that at first glance appears to be lurking around, biding his time? Or is he what the coaches say he is: a developmental project?

ESPN NFL analyst Rex Ryan had plenty to say about Shedeur on the show “Get Up” recently:

Ryan comes across as rough around the edges, but he has plenty of experience working with quarterbacks. He spent over a decade as a coordinator and had two stints as an NFL head coach.

The problem with Ryan’s portrayal is that it is not consistent with Sanders’ well-documented work ethic. The player spends extra hours putting in work on his own time.

In his final season at Colorado, Sanders was one of college football’s best quarterbacks and led the nation in completion percentage at 74.0%. He passed for 4,134 yards with 37 TDs, a mere three INTs, and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award.

Of course, playing against teams like Texas Christian, Oregon State, and Colorado State isn’t anything like the Ravens or Steelers, or the Lions and Packers, for that matter. The NFL is a different animal altogether.

And playing for your father means Sanders was never threatened to come out in any game, no matter the game’s circumstance. At no time did Shedeur have to face Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Oregon, Alabama, Clemson, or Michigan. Even in bowl games, the opponents were BYU and Washington State, in which Colorado lost 36-14 and 56-14, respectively.

He did well against teams like Oklahoma State, UCF, and Kansas.

Sanders is the story that doesn’t have an ending. It just keeps rolling along and is mentioned here and there, and folks still are glued to see what the endgame is. Yet, it never arrives. The media is aware of the interest in using the Sanders name. Maybe the real metric is not what Sanders does, but how many dollar signs follow his name.

Clearly, Stefanski and his coaches still think Sanders has a lot to learn.     

The Falcons weren’t even playing Brett Favre and thought he offered too much risk in any game with his gunslinging antics. When Ron Wolf, the Packers’ GM, traded a first-round pick for the benchwarmer Favre, Wolf went home and told his wife he thought he had just gotten himself fired.

Favre played 16 seasons in Green Bay. During his time with the Packers, Favre was the first and only NFL player to win three consecutive MVP awards, helped capture two Super Bowls, was named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, had his Packers #4 jersey retired, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Sometimes, you just have to believe in something that nobody else sees.