Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders had his first real “welcome to the NFL” moment on Saturday afternoon in the team’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams.
After a promising debut in the team’s first preseason game, and then sitting out the second game due to an injury, he was back on the field Saturday and did not have
a terribly productive day.
Some of it was his own struggles.
Some of it was the circumstances going on around him.
In terms of numbers, he finished the day by going 3-for-6 for 14 yards passing, while also taking five sacks for a loss of 41 yards and a fumble before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter.
He did have one catchable pass get dropped, and he also spent most of his afternoon running away from pressure behind an offensive line primarily made up of players who are probably about to be cut. But even with all of that, there were still some flaws in Sanders’ performance that he is going to have to iron out.
Specifically, his willingness to hold on to the ball and try to run away from defenders.
T
hat might have worked in the Big 12. It will not work in the NFL.
The best example of that came on a sack that Sanders took for a 24-yard loss, where he refused to give up on the play and ended up digging himself into a deeper hole.
