The Cleveland Browns will have a complete view of their quarterback room after Week 12. Cleveland has already played Dillon Gabriel this season, and now it is Shedeur Sanders' turn. The rookie quarterback made a bold statement before his first ever NFL start.
Sanders sent a confident message to Browns fans during a pregame interview in Las Vegas.
“It feels good,” Sanders said when asked about his starting opportunity. “But we're cool, calm, and collected. This ain't nothing to us.”
Sanders was then asked what he hoped to show Browns fans and his teammates during his NFL starting debut.
“I'm who they've been looking for,” Sanders replied before backing up and heading towards the sideline, ending the interview.
That is a bold statement to make to any NFL fanbase. But especially for Browns fans.
Cleveland has struggled for a long time to find a franchise quarterback. They've seen plenty of rookie quarterbacks, but they rarely achieve success in their first start.
In fact, the last time a Browns rookie QB won his first start with Eric Zeier in 1995
“The last Browns QB to win his first NFL start was Eric Zeier, who beat the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime in 1995,” ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote on Sunday. “Cleveland's head coach that year was Bill Belichick, and that was the year before the Browns moved to Baltimore.”
History may not be on his side, but Shedeur is already off to a good start.
Sanders is currently 4-of-7 for 77 passing yards with one interception and one sack five minutes into the second quarter. Most of those yards came on an epic 53-yard connection with fellow rookie Isaiah Bond.
Cleveland is winning 14-3 against Las Vegas with nine minutes to go in the first half.
