How Shedeur Sanders reportedly looked in practices ahead of rough debut

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has received criticism for not giving rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders first-team practice reps before Sanders endured a "rough" regular-season debut during the club's 23-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday. 

On Tuesday, Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer touched upon how Sanders performed in practices while serving as an unused backup leading up to Week 11. 

Shedeur Sanders has shown Browns some "wow plays" during practices

"During practice, [Sanders] works out on a separate area of the field each day, throwing to other young players such as Gage Larvadain, Kaden Davis, Luke Floriea and Sal Canella," Cabot wrote. "Afterwards, they engage in spirited 'Hungry Dawg' sessions designed for young players to shine. In those sessions, and when running the scout team for the Browns' starting defense, Sanders has dazzled his teammates and coaches with a couple of 'wow' plays each day. They’re the same kind of eye-popping plays, with his deadly accuracy, that he made throughout training camp with the backups when serving QB4."

Sanders' "wow" moments versus the Ravens were mostly negative, as he completed 4-of-16 passes for 47 yards with no touchdowns, one interception and two sacks taken. He should've had at least one other pass picked off, and he committed an intentional grounding penalty. 

Nevertheless, Sanders is on track to start when the 2-8 Browns play at the Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) this coming Sunday. Current Cleveland QB1 and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel was in the concussion protocol as of Wednesday morning. Gabriel suffered that injury in the first half of the Baltimore game. 

Do Browns feel Shedeur Sanders has shown "tremendous" growth?

"[Sanders] has also spent extra time with Stefanski in his office, going over the playbook and studying defenses," Cabot added. "The Browns have altered their entire practice week largely to help [Sanders] get up to speed, and he’s taken full advantage. They’ve poured more time and effort into him than they have most rookies, and the payoff has been tremendous. The notion that they’ve tried to sabotage him is preposterous."

On Wednesday, ESPN BET had Cleveland as a 3.5-point road underdog for this Sunday's game at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium. If Sanders can guide the Browns to an upset victory, he could receive an opportunity to start at least one more game before November comes to an end.