Unfortunate Shedeur Sanders news.
Cleveland Browns Dealt Troubling Shedeur Sanders Blow on Wednesday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After being projected as a potential top five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders fell to the fifth round where the Cleveland Browns selected him with the No. 144 pick. The son of Deion Sanders now finds himself in a quarterback battle with fourth other signal callers and is hoping to take advantage of every rep he gets.
Sanders, 23, got the starting nod in the team's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers, leading the team to a 30-10 victory. Despite minimal reps with the ones, Sanders was able to shine, completing 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. While many assumed this would be enough to move him up the depth chart past fellow rookie, Dillon Gabriel who the Browns drafted in the third round, Sanders still finds himself at the bottom of the depth chart.
As if he didn't already have an uphill journey to earn a starting or even backup role, Sanders was hit with untimely news on Wednesday.
Shedeur Sanders Suffers Setback
As reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter, Sanders suffered an oblique injury during the team's Wednesday practice.
"Browns QB Shedeur Sanders suffered an oblique injury while throwing during the early portion of practice today, and was held out for the rest of the session," wrote Schefter.
Although this explains why Sanders didn't receive a single rep in the team's joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles, it certainly could not come at a worse time.
Browns and Eagles joint practice 1 is in the books. Here’s how all 5 QBs performed in team drills.
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) August 13, 2025
No word on why Shedeur Sanders got no team reps today. pic.twitter.com/lPwCsEiUHE
Shedeur Sanders Was In Line to Start Second Preseason Game
The development comes about an hour after head coach Kevin Stefanski announced that Sanders would start the team's Saturday preseason game against the Eagles if Gabriel and Pickett were unable to play.
This is the second injury of the preseason for Sanders who also dealt with an arm injury last week. If he is unable to practice or play, his chances of working his way of the depth chart will take a huge hit.
Now, it's entirely possible he was held out for precautionary reasons and may be able to play on Saturday, but any reps missed are a missed opportunity.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Football