Shedeur Sanders Gets Blunt Advice From Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns Legend

"The best thing he can do is just go to work every single day, get a little bit better," Thomas continued. "Get better at one thing, write at the top of your notebook, 'This is the goal for today, this is what I want to get better at, this is how I'll get better at it,' and then, at the end of the day, go back and be very critical. The mirror test. Look yourself in the mirror, and be the most harsh critic of yourself and your game, and say, 'Did I accomplish what I set out to do at this practice?'"

Thomas made clear he admires Sanders's ability and situation handling thus far, but that having strong traits exclusive under center can help him avoid the wrong path many prior Browns quarterbacks have taken.

"He's got all the talent in the world to be a great quarterback in the league," Thomas said. "But you don't want to get caught up in any of the quarterback competition, or any of the noise coming from outside about how you're doing or how you're playing ... Training camp's all about just putting the work in, learning your craft, polishing that craft, and so far the returns have been great."

Throughout his prolific career, Thomas endured the most notorious run of poor quarterback play in recent NFL history. Over 11 seasons, he spent 10,363 consecutive snaps protecting the blind side of 20 different signal callers.

While Sanders's stint in minicamp heavily revolved around assimilating himself into pro routines, locker rooms and coaches' meetings, the main test lies ahead in training camp. Sanders will learn the playbook, find his favorite targets and ultimately find his standing in Cleveland's quarterback room before the preseason.

"A guy that's just showing up, this is all new to him," Thomas said of Sanders. "The NFL concepts, the playbook, the snap counts, the changes that you're making at the line of scrimmage, the calls. Those are all being introduced, and you get an opportunity to work on them and get live reps without the hits."

Thomas noted that Sanders and fellow rookie quarterback Dillion Gabriel will undergo a "vital time" of the offseason come late July. The Buffs legend will jockey for starting status with Gabriel and two veterans, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.