Shedeur Sanders first-team reps debate is going on inside Browns' own building

After Shedeur Sanders made his lackluster debut in Week 11, a debate raged about whether or not the Cleveland Browns should have given him more first-team reps over the course of the year.

We know that didn't happen based on comments from head coach Kevin Stefanski and reports by Browns beat writers.

The lack of first-team reps for Sanders in the past shouldn't come as a surprise, though, no matter how much people want to make a controversy out of it.

That's because backup quarterbacks — which Sanders was before Dillon Gabriel came down with a concussion and forced him to sit out — just don't get those reps, something former NFL backup Luke McCown said recently.

However, there are at least some inside the Browns' building that believe the team should have given Sanders some of those reps once he became the QB2 behind Gabriel, according to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones.

Sanders's on-field limitations include holding the ball too long, not having the strongest arm and lacking the sort of athleticism his father was known for. But when he was just one play away from being the guy -- as we saw last week -- there were some in the building who believed he should have gotten at least a few first-team reps a week.

"We know what it will take to get him ready. He's not a normal number 2 and that's just a fact. You know he needs it and know his limitations," a source told Jones.

"The goal is to win and not stick to some industry process. He needs some reps so give him a few," the source added.

Of course, seeing as how he's starting this week, Sanders is getting all of the first-team reps in practice.

Jones adds that another source told him Sanders has "had a good week" of practice before he makes his first NFL start on Sunday. The expected goal is to get Sanders some short completions early on to get him going.

The expectation right now is that the Browns will go back to Gabriel once healthy, but Sanders could potentially cancel those plans if he can clear the low bar that Gabriel has set in his six starts this season.

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