How Shedeur Sanders was a positive for Joe Flacco amid Browns' QB competition

An update  on Thursday indicated that 2025 fifth-round draft pick Shedeur Sanders remained fourth on the Cleveland Browns' quarterback depth chart behind Week 1 starter Joe Flacco, presumed backup Kenny Pickett and 2025 third-rounder Dillon Gabriel. 

That said, it seems Sanders has provided more than some accurate passes to his teammates.

During the latest edition of the "Orange and Brown Talk Podcast," Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot discussed how Flacco claimed Sanders brought "a welcome energy to the Browns' quarterback room" during the competition for the QB1 job. 

"I even asked Joe [Wednesday]," Cabot explained. "He talked about shaking off the boredom of doing this for his 18th season. And I asked him, 'But doesn’t Shedeur put a little bit of a fresh spin on it for you?' And he said, 'Yes, he does.' Those two guys are often seen laughing together and talking, and I think Shedeur is keeping it light for a lot of people inside the building."

When Pickett suffered a hamstring injury on July 26, Flacco unofficially won the competition for the starting job. As of Friday afternoon, Flacco was on track to play "between 20 to 25 plays" in Cleveland's preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday. Gabriel will be the Browns' QB2 for that matchup, followed by Sanders. 

In the spring, Flacco was criticized for suggesting he was more concerned with earning the starting job than with mentoring Cleveland's young QBs. However, it now appears that Flacco and Sanders are getting along well as the one-time Super Bowl MVP prepares to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7.

The Browns are on track to carry all four signal-callers beyond the Aug. 26 deadline for teams to set their initial 53-man rosters, even if doing so means placing Pickett on injured reserve. Sanders may not appear in a regular-season game, but it sounds like he could at least offer a positive mindset early in 2025.