Shedeur Sanders Says 'I Don't Think I Played Good,' Reflects on NFL Debut With Browns

Shedeur Sanders offered a critical assessment of his performance during Sunday's NFL debut, though he hinted that getting more reps with the first-team offense would be beneficial.

"I don't think I played good," he told reporters. "I don't think I played good at all. I think it's a lot of things we need to look at during the week and go and just get comfortable. Throwing routes with Jerry [Jeudy], throwing routes with all those guys. I think that was my first ball to him all year. I just think overall we've got to go to next week and understand, so we have a week to prepare stuff I like to do."

Those comments would suggest that Sanders believes he'll be the starter next week, though head coach Kevin Stefanski has maintained that Dillon Gabriel will remain atop the depth chart once he clears the concussion protocol:

Sanders had a rough performance against the Baltimore Ravens, finishing 4-of-16 for 47 yards with a fumble (recovered by the Browns), an interception and two sacks taken in a 23-16 loss. The Browns had a chance to tie or win the game late in the fourth quarter, though Sanders and the offense stalled out on the final drive.

Shedeur Throws 1st INT 😬

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Despite a rough showing, however, the former Colorado quarterback remains confident in his ability to play at the NFL level.

"I know I'm made for it," he told reporters. "I don't think there was a doubt in my mind on that final drive we were gonna go down and score. Things happened and we didn't."

There has been a cohort of Browns fans and Sanders stans clamoring for the young quarterback to see the field since Cleveland selected him in the fifth round of April's draft. Stefanski had preferred both Joe Flacco and Gabriel ahead of him to this point, however, and Sunday's brief debut didn't undercut that assessment.

Granted, Sanders hasn't played in a game since the preseason and, as he mentioned several times, hasn't gotten any work with the first-team offense. His debut deserves to be analyzed within that context.

But even by his own admission, it wasn't great. If Gabriel isn't cleared for next week's game against the Las Vegas Raiders and Sanders gets the start, he'll need a far better performance to drum up a legitimate quarterback controversy.