Shedeur Sanders will get his second NFL start this Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers after waiting 11 weeks to earn an opportunity and convince Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski to play him for Cleveland.
Stefanski’s bet seems to be paying off, as Sanders has started one game and already has a victory (10-24 vs. Raiders) under his belt. This week, he’ll face a bigger challenge against the (8-4) 49ers.
Sanders pushing other rookies
Shedeur Sanders’ well-known leadership skills paid off last week as he helped fellow rookie Dylan Sampson gain confidence and turn around his struggling season.
During the Browns’ warm-ups before the Raiders game, Sampson was struggling to catch the ball, so Sanders kept working with him until he secured it. He didn’t let the warm-up drills end on a drop.
That push may have been the boost Sampson needed, as in the fourth quarter the rookie caught a swing pass from Sanders, took advantage of good blocking, and streaked for a 66-yard touchdown.
Sampson scored Cleveland’s final touchdown of the game and sealed the victory. That was Sampson’s second touchdown of the season, following his Week 2 score in the Browns’ win over the Ravens.
After the Browns’ victory in Las Vegas, the rookie said: “It felt great to come up in a big moment. Kind of put some closing finishes to the dub we got.”
It felt great to come up in a big moment. Kind of put some closing finishes to the dub we got.
“This season’s kind of been long for me, just staying down, staying the course, working every single day at practice, doing what I can. But this is the moment you work for. You work for opportunities like this and you’ve got to take advantage of it,” he added.
Sampson was a fourth-round pick out of Tennessee. He started the season on the right foot, but since then, things have gone downhill. He got the most playing time in the season opener while fellow rookie Quinshon Judkins was out after a contract dispute. In that game, he rushed 12 times for 29 yards and caught eight passes for 64 yards in the 17-16 loss to the Bengals.
After Judkins debuted in Week 2, Sampson’s playing time dropped, and in the limited opportunities he received, he failed to make an impression – until last week’s game vs. the Raiders.
Sampson’s numbers still leave plenty of room for improvement. In 11 games played this season, he has rushed 38 times for 89 yards, a 2.3-yard average. He has caught 23 passes for 195 yards, an 8.5-yard average, and two touchdowns. But this could be the perfect moment to maintain his momentum, build stronger chemistry with Sanders, and completely turn around his season.
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