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The Cleveland Browns may or may not want constant national media exposure, but it came with the territory as soon as they drafted Shedeur Sanders, two rounds after having selected Dillon Gabriel. Two quarterback picks in a draft is uncommon to begin with, but even more so when you consider the Browns already had high-profile veterans on the roster. Deshaun Watson is the big-money guy, but he's rehabbing from a torn Achilles. The front office hedged their bets by bringing in capable veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett during the offseason.
By adding Gabriel and Sanders, the team is now in a full-fledged quarterback competition. That gives everyone a fair chance to earn the starting job, but it also makes it difficult for those lower on the depth chart to climb it, due to the sheer amount of quarterbacks. It seemed like Sanders hit the ground running, outplaying fellow rookie Gabriel at the start. But that hype has quickly faded, and recent news may be bad for Sanders.
Shedeur Sanders to split reps with Joe Flacco, behind Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel
Longtime Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot revealed an interesting detail on Tuesday, which puts Sanders lower on the depth chart than expected. According to Cabot, Pickett and Gabriel will split first-team reps when OTAs begin next week. Sanders and Flacco will split third-team reps.
This is important because it basically means Sanders isn't currently being considered for the starting quarterback job; at least not yet. It's almost impossible for him to leapfrog Pickett and Gabriel if he isn't getting reps with the first and second teams. The silver lining is that there's a long way to go for that to change.
Pickett and Gabriel could very well underwhelm during OTAs, which would open the door for Sanders or Flacco. There's also the preseason, which is where certain quarterbacks tend to shine. Given that Sanders proved to be a big-game player in college, that could be where he gains significant traction in the competition.