Shedeur Sanders made noticeable strides during his second preseason with the Cleveland Browns, but former All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio believes one lingering issue could limit the young quarterback.
Bitonio praised Sanders’ development, pointing to his timing and pocket awareness as areas that still need significant work if he hopes to succeed if he does get another look as the starter.
“I thought we saw in the preseason his development from last year. I thought he looked, to me, significantly better,” Bitonio said on the Bearded Browns podcast. “But if you look at the little things, like time to throw and pocket awareness and just — the guys get open and he makes a big play when they’re open but there’s a little bit of just, like, anticipation and time to throw.”
Bitonio explained the challenge Sanders creates for the offensive line when he holds the ball too long.
“As a lineman, it sucks, but if you’re taking over three seconds to throw in the league, like, I don’t care if you have five Joe Thomases in front of you. It is tough to handle,” Bitonio said.
Bitonio retired in June after 12 seasons with the Browns, earning eight Pro Bowl selections and seven All-Pro nods. He also blocked for Sanders during his rookie season, giving him a firsthand perspective on the quarterback’s progress and remaining weaknesses.
Shedeur Sanders Still Working Through Familiar Issue
Sanders’ tendency to extend plays has always been a double-edged sword. His mobility and confidence outside the pocket can produce explosive gains. However, holding the ball also exposes him to sacks, turnovers and unnecessary hits.
Sanders was sacked 23 times during eight appearances last season, including seven starts. He finished his rookie campaign completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Browns went 3-4 in games Sanders started.
The former fifth-round pick showed improvement during the preseason, particularly with his command of the offense and ability to generate big plays.
“He’s being more decisive,” Monken said in June. “It just feels like he’s making quicker decisions. The ball’s coming out of his hands, which he’s gonna have to do.”
Monken acknowledged Sanders’ ability to create outside the structure of a play but stressed that avoiding negative plays would be critical to sustaining drives.
“Not that he doesn’t have playmaking ability, because he does, but his ability to process quicker and get the ball out of his hands and eliminate lost-yardage plays is going to be huge for us to be able to stack plays and score,” Monken said.
Shedeur Sanders Opens Season Behind Deshaun Watson
Sanders’ development was not enough to win Cleveland’s starting job. Monken named Deshaun Watson the starter and Sanders as the primary backup.
Rookie Taylen Green is the third quarterback on the 53-man roster, while Dillon Gabriel was moved to injured reserve with a back injury. Gabriel must miss at least four games.
Most expect Sanders to get an opportunity at some point this season, particularly given Watson’s recent injury history and the pressure on him to produce early. Watson has appeared in only 19 games since joining Cleveland in 2022 and missed all of last season while recovering from two surgeries on his Achilles.
The Browns open the season on September 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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