Browns QB Shedeur Sanders focuses on his job in wake of dad's cancer fight

New York Times

a day ago

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders sat out much of Saturday's practice because of arm soreness, but Sanders told reporters Monday he was 'thankful' to be back at practice and healthy enough to participate.
Sanders had reported some soreness to members of the team's medical staff Saturday and said he believes it was due to 'starting and stopping' as he competes in a four-man quarterback competition in his first NFL training camp. Through 10 practices, Sanders is the only one of the four Browns quarterbacks who hasn't taken any reps with the first-string offense. Last week, he worked with the No. 2 offense against the No. 1 defense in one drill.
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Next up for the Browns is a visit to Charlotte for a Wednesday joint practice with the Carolina Panthers ahead of a Friday night preseason game. Sanders expects to make his NFL debut in that game, but he said he has not yet been informed of the team's playing time plans.
Monday marked Sanders' first interview since his father and college coach, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, publicly disclosed his fight with bladder cancer over the last several months. Deion Sanders is now back coaching the University of Colorado, and Shedeur Sanders spoke of concentrating on his job during his father's medical fight.
'I would say (the biggest thing) is definitely staying focused mentally,' Shedeur said. 'Dad, he's one person that he'll handle his. We'll handle what we have to do. It was something that we really didn't need to have a formal conversation about because (Deion) was like, 'Y'all need to focus on what y'all need to focus on. Y'all can't sit here and feel sorry for me.''
Though Deion Sanders visited Shedeur's brother Shiloh, an undrafted rookie safety with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in training camp late last month, Shedeur Sanders said he asked his father not to visit Browns camp.
'I don't want him coming to see me right now because I want to get to where I want to go, then for him to see me,' Shedeur Sanders said. 'I don't want him to come and see me get a couple reps, and he is cheering like a good dad. Like, nah, you can't be proud of me right now. I've got to get to where I'm going, and I know it's a lot I've got to do to get there.
'I just want everything that I'm doing (to) just focus on this time, and I don't want no distractions because we know how the media, we know how everybody would take it and take away from the team, just from him being my own dad showing up. So, it is a gift and a curse at the same time.'
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Sanders went through some extra stretching and loosening of his right arm Monday before he started his usual pre-practice throws. He said he made the decision to be cautious on Saturday because his body wasn't fully responding — and that he thought about what his father might think about things.
'I always hear my dad's voice in my mind all the time,' Sanders said. 'With him, it's always 'bone or blood' — his motto. … So of course I was definitely hearing his voice in the back of my head, but at the end of the day, I want to be productive. I want to give you guys the best work, and I want to be at my best at all times.'
Though Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel would be limited in Monday's practice after experiencing hamstring tightness, Gabriel took his normal reps until the final drill of practice, when Sanders operated both the No. 2 and No. 3 offenses in a drill simulating a late-game scramble situation.
Sanders also took all seven reps in the team's post-practice opportunity period for young players. Previously, Gabriel and Sanders had split snaps evenly in opportunity periods.
Stefanski has not revealed his plans for this week's joint practice or preseason opener, but it's believed that Gabriel and Sanders will get most of the work in Friday night's game.