BEREA — Shedeur Sanders spent the first day of his NFL career letting his actions speak for him.
The fifth-round pick out of Colorado spent the first day of Browns rookie minicamp alternating with fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel during the course of both walk-throughs and, ultimately, a roughly 80-minute practice in the afternoon. Sanders was always second to go between the two in those drills, giving way to Gabriel, the third-round pick.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said after the first practice to not read anything into the order the two quarterbacks received snaps. He wouldn’t publicly say the roles would flip for the second day of rookie minicamp, but one could certainly assume that is a possibility.
However, before Sanders gets on the field for his second practice, he’ll finally face all of the cameras and reporters in Berea in this weekend. Both he and Gabriel are scheduled to speak to the media starting at 11:45 a.m. Saturday, May 10.
It will be the first time both quarterbacks have spoken in person to the Cleveland area media. It will be a chance to get Sanders’ impressions on how he rated his first practice in the NFL.
Follow along here, though, for impressions on how his second practice went on Saturday afternoon, May 10.
Kevin Stefanski appreciates questions from Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel
Part of rookie minicamp is the ability to retain what is learned. That’s even in a relatively short turnaround as from one day to the next.
Stefanski was impressed by both Sanders and Gabriel and the way they were taking what they’ve learned and turning it into questions.
“Yeah, there’s lots of questions,” Stefanski said. “That’s good. This is the time certainly to ask those questions. [Quarterback] coach [Bill] Musgrave, [offensive coordinator Tommy] Rees are in there before meetings, after meetings, available for text message at night if they have questions on certain concepts. So, there’s no easy way to just pour an install into a person. Say, here’s our offense, here’s our playbook, figure it out. It just takes time, you know, this is not something that you can just pick up and snap your fingers. I wish it was. So, there’s just a lot of meetings. You’re going to make mistakes, both physical and mental. But what we’re trying to do is coach off of those and learn from those.”
Shedeur Sanders goes second in lengthy 7-on-7 period
Sanders went second for what was a lengthy 7-on-7 period. While many of Gabriel’s plays went to the right, it was the opposite for Sanders.Gabriel is left-handed. Sanders is right-handed.
Dillon Gabriel first quarterback up in team drills
Gabriel returned as the first quarterback up when the Browns moved into team drills. Sanders took over after about six plays.
Shedeur Sanders takes first reps in Day 2 practice
Sanders was first up when the quarterbacks started small-group work with the running backs. That was opposite of what happened the first day.It’s ultimately not something to overreact to, because it’s still rookie minicamp. It’s more to spread out the reps for both.
Shedeur Sanders knocks news conference out of the park
The question about whether or not Sanders can handle the rigors of an NFL game remain to be answered. There’s never been a question about how comfortable he can be in front of the cameras.
Sanders spent nearly 15 minutes talking to the media prior to practice. He flashed the typical charm that he clearly got from his father, but has added his own flavor to over the years.
“Well, yeah, I guess that’s what it is,” Sanders said. “I just be myself every day. I can’t control what’s external. I can even control what’s internal.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: How does Shedeur Sanders look in his second practice as a Browns quarterback?
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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