Shedeur Sanders makes promise to Browns fans ahead of first regular-season start

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced on Wednesday that rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders will make the first regular-season start of his career when the 2-8 Browns play at the Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) this Sunday.

Later on Wednesday, Sanders offered somewhat of a promise to Cleveland supporters who are hoping the fifth-round draft pick could potentially become a savior for the franchise. 

Shedeur Sanders wants to be "the guy" for the Browns

"I know our fans have a lot of expectations and hope," Sanders acknowledged, per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. "And I would be doing a disservice to myself and a disservice to the organization if I didn't feel like I am the guy. ...I'm doing everything I need to prepare to be the best version of myself as possible. With the circumstances, everything got to be sped up, and that's great. I like pressure in life. I'm just excited for everything. So, I feel like I'm the guy. I know I'm the guy, but you just have to be able to see."

Sanders made his regular-season debut against the Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday after fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion. In total, Sanders completed 4-of-16 passes for 47 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in what became a 23-16 defeat. He was also sacked twice for a loss of 27 yards. 

Why Shedeur Sanders is confident he'll be better in second appearance

Earlier in the week, Stefanski suggested the coaching staff is confident Sanders will play better after the 23-year-old gets first-team practice reps that were previously reserved for Gabriel. During his Wednesday media availability, Sanders echoed Stefanski's take. 

"I'm truly excited for that, knowing that I have a piece of [the] offense and a say so and how things fit my eye and place the players exactly where they need to be," Sanders added. "Seeing how they come in and out of routes, seeing the structure of the O-linemen, seeing their set, just having a feeling. I'm more of a feel type of person, so that's how I learn. That's how I do everything. I'm not just, 'Imma just watch it, it's just going to happen.' No, I got to be out there, feel it. I got to move around. It's like so many details that it takes for me to feel my best and play my best, and I'm doing everything in my power and the team's doing everything to help me get prepared."

It remains to be seen if a more prepared version of Sanders will be able to relegate a healthy Gabriel to backup duties beyond Week 12. As of Wednesday afternoon, ESPN BET had the Browns as four-point underdogs against the Raiders.