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The Cleveland Browns slotted rookie Shedeur Sanders fourth on the quarterback depth chart ahead of Friday’s preseason opener, which means opportunity against the Carolina Panthers if reported arm soreness is not a lingering issue. Joe Flacco tops the depth chart while Kenny Pickett, who received much of the first-team reps to begin training camp, is No. 2 ahead of Dillon Gabriel. For Sanders, opportunities are waning as Cleveland moves closer to trimming the roster to its 53-man ahead of the season.
Chances are slim the Browns, who signed veteran Tyler Huntley for another arm at practice given recent injuries, take more than three quarterbacks on roster.
“How do I block out the noise? I’ve always faced adversity since growing up,” Sanders said Monday via Cleveland 14 News. “Each level, it’s always been something. When you figure out how people come at you … life is a cycle, it keeps repeating over, over and over, then you understand what game this is or what they’re doing. I can never feel less than. Nobody can ever make me mentally get out of position in the situation I’m in.
“I’m thankful for who I am, I’m thankful for who my Dad is, I’m thankful for my family. No one can make me feel bad about the blessings I do have.”
Sanders skeptics have been active since the Browns took him two rounds after selecting Gabriel in April, an unexpected move after the former Colorado star tumbled in the draft.
“I just feel like in life and everything, it’s just me versus me,” Sanders said May, via The Akron Beacon-Journal. “I can’t control any other decision besides that. So I just try to be my best self at all times.”
The addition of Huntley shows the Browns are scrambling, which should be good news for Sanders from a playing time standpoint in Friday’s game since Pickett and Gabriel are dealing with hamstring injuries and are expected out.
