Browns' Shedeur Sanders chides 'excuses' despite limited opportunity at minicamp
Shedeur Sanders is one of several quarterbacks competing for the Cleveland Browns' starting role.
While Joe Flacco brings the most experience in the group, Kenny Pickett has also started games in the NFL. Dillon Gabriel and Sanders were both part of the Browns 2025 draft class. Deshuan Watson vowed to return "better than ever" after re-injuring his Achilles tendon in January, but it remains to be seen if he will take snaps during the 2025 season.
The crowded quarterback room relegated Sanders to taking snaps with the designated second-team for the majority of the Browns' mandatory minicam practice on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Flacco, Pickett and Gabriel took snaps with the first-team, ESPN reported.
Nevertheless, spending practice time with the second-team did not seem to rattle Sanders. The young quarterback told reporters his perspective helps keep him from viewing his situation in a negative light.
"Life is just based on how you view different things," the 23-year-old said. "So you can view things as you're not getting reps in a negative way or you can view it as, OK, when it's my time to get out there, let's be proactive and let's get warm, let's get going."
A determined Sanders added he did not have any "excuses" and his "production" whenever he gets the opportunity to play is what ultimately counts.
"So, there's no excuses because when you get out there, nobody cares how many reps you got whenever you get in the game. Nobody cares if you took a snap before. Everybody cares about production. So that's the main thing when you get out there: You got to be able to produce."
The majority of Sanders' and Gabriel's snaps on Tuesday appeared to take place during the team drills portion of practice. However, Gabriel also had an opportunity to take reps with starters, while Sanders mostly stuck with backups.
When asked about his mindset entering his first year in the NFL, Sanders cited his desire to be a great teammate who is always as prepared as possible.
"My goal is to be the best teammate and to be as polished as I can be in every aspect," Sanders said. "I view things as I got time. I got time to be able to grow and mature and be able to understand the ins and outs of the defenses and be able to get the good insight from the vets in the room."
The Browns open their regular season on Sept. 7, when they host the AFC North division rival Cincinnati Bengals.
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