Cleveland analysts share main concern for Colorado Buffaloes football legend Shedeur Sanders’ chances of winning Browns’ QB1 role

Colorado Buffaloes football legend Shedeur Sanders may stick in the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback room, but that doesn’t mean he is a shoo-in to find the field under head coach Kevin Stefanski anytime soon.

Lance Reisland and Dan Labbe stressed that while Sanders had a great showing at the Browns’ rookie minicamp, narrowly edging out Dillon Gabriel, as opposed to dominating the competition as some pointed out, he still needs to perform well in the preseason to show Stefanski what he looks like in live game reps.

“When pads go on, as I mentioned in one of my posts, when pads go on, that’s when they really separate themselves. Because when live things are flying out around them and they got to take a big hit and then come back and make a big read and do all those kind of things that NFL quarterback’s got to do, the cream will rise to the top there, without question,” Reisland said on the “Orange and Brown Talk podcast.”

“My concerns with Shedeur are things that are not going to show up in 7-on-7 and even in team drills against a bunch of tryout guys and rookies ... my concerns with Shedeur probably aren’t going to be answered until we get to see him play real football,” Labbe said.

Sanders was lauded for his big-play extinct, but he wasn’t as polished across the board as Gabriel.

His ceiling is higher, but Sanders’ floor could be lower after Gabriel racked up experience at UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon, and Shedeur had an offense tailored around his talents in Boulder with Pat Shurmur.

This competition isn’t between these two, though. Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett loom large as possibilities with NFL experience under their belt.

If Sanders can impress in the preseason, he’ll have completed step one. Looking better than Flacco and Pickett when it counts will be what matters most as it pertains to the “Grown QB” starting.