ESPN’s Dan Graziano: Shedeur Sanders won’t ‘get a lot of rope’ in Cleveland if speeding issues persist

Shedeur Sanders was in the news for an unfortunate reason earlier this week. The Cleveland Browns rookie was pulled over for allegedly driving 101 miles per hour in Strongsville, Ohio. It turned out that wasn’t the first time the quarterback had been pulled over for speeding this month either.

There’s been a ton of backlash for Sanders’ actions, and ESPN’s Dan Graziano put it all in perspective. While he believes the former Colorado star deserves some grace, he drove home the point that he was a fifth-round pick, and he might not have as much leeway as his last name would make you think.

“Let’s not underrate the alleged infraction,” Graziano stated, via Get Up on Friday. “People want to say it’s not a big deal, it is a big deal. You’re driving around Greater Cleveland, Ohio, at 100 miles per hour, you could literally kill someone. That’s not being dramatic. Henry Ruggs was in the news this week on special release, talking to try and convince people to help them avoid the tragic mistake that he made.

“Now that said, you don’t want to sit here and be a scold either. He’s 23 years old. I have sons that are almost that age. I know for a fact that young men that age do dumb things. Doesn’t make them bad people. Doesn’t mean he should be cut. Doesn’t mean anything like that.

“If you’re the Browns, you’re sitting with Shedeur Sanders and you’re saying, ‘Look, man, you can’t do this. When you’re out in the community, you represent us. You represent our franchise. Everything you do matters. It reflects on us, as coaches, as a front office, as your teammates.’ So, that’s part of what they’re giving him at this point.

“The question is, of course, does he learn from it? Going forward, as it pertains to his standing on the football team and in the NFL, the thing people have to remember? He’s a fifth-round pick. Not every fifth-round pick makes the team. He has to perform at a high level, and in that situation, you don’t get a lot of rope, in terms of what the organization, what the league will put up with, in terms of your behavior away from the facility.

“Hopefully, he’s learning from this, and the mistakes won’t be repeated. He could focus on just trying to make the team and becoming the starting quarterback as soon as possible.”

As Graziano explained, there’s not a ton of room for error for the No. 144 overall pick from the 2025 NFL Draft. He certainly needs to keep his nose clean, and the NFL analyst is hoping this is a teaching moment for him.

Time will tell, but Shedeur Sanders is certainly receiving a fair amount of criticism for his speeding infractions. Moving forward, it’s his mission to keep the focus on football and potentially become the quarterback of the future in Cleveland.