Browns name starting QB for second preseason game after Shedeur Sanders' breakout performance
'Felt it early, I think, warming up and then felt it throughout individuals, so took a look at it,' head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters this week ahead of Saturday's game with the defending-champion Eagles in Philadelphia.
'When it's a quarterback, you kind of need that muscle to throw. So unfortunately, going to put him down for a little bit here. We'll treat it day to day and see how he responds. But want to be smart because he's a thrower, so you can't push that thing.'
Sanders sustained the injury during drills ahead of practice Wednesday. The Browns said Sanders is day to day.
'If you're a right guard, you can kind of play though that,' Stefanski said. 'When it's a quarterback, you kind of need that muscle to throw.'
Stefanski said backup Joe Flacco won't play against the Eagles. Tyler 'Snoop' Huntley and Gabriel could get the bulk of playing time. Kenny Pickett is limited with a hamstring injury.
Sanders completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards with two first-half touchdown passes to Kaden Davis in his NFL preseason debut in a win over Carolina on Friday night.
The Browns took Sanders in the fifth round of the NFL draft. He wasn´t selected until the 144th overall pick, a stunning fall for one of the most recognizable players in the draft class.
Sanders finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy balloting last season for Colorado and threw for a school-record 4,134 yards last season.
'Injuries stink for all these guys,' Stefanski said. 'They don't want to miss a rep for any reason. There's a way to continue to prepare to continue to get better even when you're not getting those reps because of injury.'
Gabriel was selected 94th overall in the 2025 draft after putting up big numbers at three college stops: UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon. Still on the board 50 picks later, the Browns chose Sanders to end a well-publicized draft weekend crash from projections of a top-50 draft rating.
'I try to just stay in the moment. I'll look forward to that moment once it comes and be right where my feet are,' Gabriel said this week. 'The best competitors know how to stay present and be themselves by competing at a high level one play at a time.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Gordon Reid: Wheelchair tennis must keep proving value to close prize-money gap
Six-time Wimbledon doubles champion Gordon Reid says wheelchair tennis must keep proving its value to tournaments to help close the prize-money gap. Reid and his partner Alfie Hewett are preparing for the upcoming US Open, which last week announced a large increase in winnings for the 2025 tournament. But, while mixed doubles champions will now get one million dollars (£740,000) between them, the total pot for all wheelchair players is 1.69 million dollars (£1.25m). Reid and Hewett, who have won six titles at Flushing Meadows, with Hewett also winning four singles titles, have been a big driving force in the improvement in wheelchair tennis. And the Scot knows that needs to continue for the players to be rewarded more financially. 'It's been 20 years since we started, so in terms of the age of the slams themselves, we're obviously very fresh, very new,' Reid told the PA news agency. 'As much as we want to obviously see an increase and the gap in the prize money closing, I think we also need to prove that we're adding something, adding value to the tournament. 'Hopefully then those come hand in hand – the opportunities that we get and the prize money. 'So we just have to try to play our part, to entertain as much as we can and hopefully move that direction together.' The US Open is celebrating its 20th anniversary of wheelchair tennis and the British pair want to celebrate by winning their first doubles title there since 2022. They were beaten in the Wimbledon final last month, but know they are heading to a strong surface. 'It will be just trying to produce some of the level of matches that we played for majority of this year, really,' Hewett said about what it will take to win. 'I mean, the final at Wimbledon was the first match we've lost all year in the doubles. 'Obviously it was probably one we wanted to win the most out of all of them as well. 'We've been working on a lot of stuff that in our game that we're going to try and take on to the hard court. 'A lot of it worked pretty well in Australia and absolutely similar conditions.' Reid and Hewett have recently been back at Wimbledon holding a coaching clinic for Play Your Way To Wimbledon – a national competition with regional and county rounds, which sees winners get the chance to play at SW19. 'It's a fantastic event, giving anyone across the country, especially at grassroots level, the chance to play on the grass courts,' Reid added. 'We know how special that is. 'So to get to have that opportunity for so many people is amazing and having all the different inclusive categories is something we love to see.'
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu to clash in US Open mixed doubles as draw revealed
British No 1s Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu will face each other in the first round of the revamped US Open mixed doubles. The mixed doubles has been moved to before the main tournament on 19 and 20 August, with $1m (£750,000) in prize money at stake for the winners of the 16-pair event. Draper will play with American Jessica Pegula after their original partners, Paula Badosa and Tommy Paul, both withdrew. With both inside the top five in the singles rankings, the pair have been handed the top seeding and will kick off their campaign against wild card pair Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz. The winners could face 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic and his partner Olga Danilovic if the Serbian pair overcome Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev. Venus Williams, at the age of 45, faces Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev alongside compatriot Reilly Opelka. Only four games will be required to win a set in matches other than the final. No-advantage scoring will also be in place, meaning just four points will be needed to win a game, while a 10-point match tie-break will be played in lieu of a third set throughout the competition. US Open mixed doubles first-round draw Jack Draper/Jessica Pegula v Carlos Alcaraz/Emma Raducanu Olga Danilovic/Novak Djokovic v Mirra Andreeva/Daniil Medvedev Casper Ruud/Iga Swiatek v Madison Keys/Frances Tiafoe Gael Monfils/Naomi Osaka v Caty McNally/Lorenzo Musetti Katerina Siniakova/Jannik Sinner v Belinda Bencic/Alexander Zverev Ben Shelton/Taylor Townsend v Amanda Anisimova/Holger Rune PA
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Emma Raducanu's US Open doubles partnership with Carlos Alcaraz in major doubt as Spaniard faces race against time to link up with Brit after summer of romance rumours
Emma Raducanu 's mixed doubles alliance with Carlos Alcaraz has been the talk of tennis this summer – but the Grand Slam champion duo's participation is now in doubt. Alcaraz will play in the final in Cincinnati against his great rival Jannik Sinner, at 8pm UK time today (Monday), leaving less than a 24 hour gap between his first match with Raducanu on Tuesday at 7pm. It is a two-hour flight from Cincinnati, Ohio to New York, so while eminently possible it is an extremely tight turnaround and Alcaraz's priority will be to prepare in the best way possible for his singles challenge at the US Open. Daily Mail Sport understands team Raducanu are hopeful the brilliant Spaniard will still play and the two entourages will be in close contact over the next few hours. Should Raducanu take to the court she will face fellow British No1 and childhood friend Jack Draper, who is playing with American world No4 Jessica Pegula. That battle of Britain will be a fascinating sub-plot, and the winners of that one could take on Novak Djokovic and his partner Olga Danilovic, if the Serbs get past Russian pair Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev. The US Open Mixed Doubles Championship draw is set! — US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 17, 2025 Pegula is Draper's third partner after first Qinwen Zheng and then Paula Badosa pulled out. He has ended up with the best of the lot though, and he and Pegula are the No1 seeds. The US Open field, while still strong, has been hit by several withdrawals. As well as Badosa and Zheng, Grigor Dimitrov is out with the injury sustained at Wimbledon – and his partner Aryna Sabalenka, one of the biggest names in the field, declined to re-enter with someone else. Nick Kyrgios is also out plus Tommy Paul and Emma Navarro, two Americans who would have driven strong local interest.
