Shedeur Sanders dealt tough blow amid Browns QB competition

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders suffered an oblique strain on Wednesday, and he’s unlikely to play in the Browns’ second preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.

This is a blow for the 2025 fifth-round pick, as Sanders is in the middle of a quarterback competition with veteran Joe Flacco, former first-round pick Kenny Pickett and 2025 third-round pick Dillon Gabriel.

On the Browns’ depth chart, Sanders is listed as the fourth-string quarterback behind Flacco (No. 1), Pickett (No. 2) and Gabriel (No. 3), but Sanders is the only one of those players who has seen game action in the preseason.

Sanders had a huge showing in the Browns’ first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers, and he was one of two quarterbacks (veteran Tyler Huntley was the other) to play in the game for Cleveland.

The rookie fifth-round pick completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball four times for 19 yards. Sanders played well enough for the Browns to win, as they beat the Panthers 30-10.

While it doesn’t appear that the preseason performance from Sanders changed much in terms of the depth chart, it did show that he can compete at the NFL level.

Prior to falling to the fifth round in the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders had been projected to be one of the first quarterbacks taken after a strong 2024 collegiate season.

During his 2024 season, he threw for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions in 13 games. He led the FBS in completion percentage (74.0) and paced the Big 12 in passing yards, passing touchdowns, passing yards per game and yards gained per pass attempt.

If Sanders can’t play in the Browns’ game against the Eagles, it’ll put him in a tough position to win the job out of training camp, something that was already going to be a tough task.

The Browns were one of the worst teams in the NFL last season, and they could be headed for another rough season since their quarterback room is one of the shakiest in the NFL.

Hopefully, Sanders will recover in time to compete for the Browns’ starting job before the regular season kicks off. Cleveland will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7 in Week 1.