Russell Wilson may not be the quarterback he once was, but his legacy is already cemented, and he is one of the most athletic and accurate quarterbacks of his generation, as well as a Super Bowl champion.
The fact that he is now on his fourth team in five years doesn’t take away from the fact that any rookie should be honored to be compared to him, which is exactly what one Cleveland Browns rookie recently heard from a former NFL GM.
During a recent episode of Afternoon Drive on 92.3 The Fan, Scot McCloughan said he sees a lot of Russell Wilson in fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders.
“I think [Shedeur Sanders] is ready to play. Right now, let’s go,” McCloughan said. “It’s the same thing we did in Seattle, when we took Russell Wilson. All of a sudden, Wilson comes in the first two weeks of training camp, I’m like, ‘It’s not even close.’ Pete Carroll comes out and says, ‘He’s our starter.’ He just took off. I could see that happening.”
"I think he's ready to play. Right now, let's go. It's the same thing we did in Seattle, when we took Russell Wilson…he just took off. I could see that happening."
📞 Former NFL GM @MccloughanScot w/ @NickWilsonSays & @JPeterlin on Shedeur 🏈
🔊Listen: https://t.co/zKlit9vEie pic.twitter.com/MUNlnItrzH
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) May 17, 2025
This type of talk can be dangerous, because if Sanders was as ready to play as McCloughan and plenty of other fans and media members believe, he wouldn’t have fallen to the fifth round.
He will surely get every chance to prove he should be the Week 1 starter in camp, but there is no reason to rush this, and if he gets thrown into the fire too early, it could backfire, as Browns fans know better than anybody.
Cleveland’s first eight games in 2025, prior to the Week 9 bye, are absolutely brutal, so it might be best to let Sanders and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel sit and learn behind the veterans and let Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco start the season.
The Seattle Seahawks had a ready-made contender when Wilson stepped in to start as a rookie.
If Wilson took over a 3-14 team as a rookie, things might not have gone so well.
Let’s pump the brakes here, everybody.
Just let Sanders prove it in camp before crowning him the next Russell Wilson.
NEXT: Travis Hunter Puts Shedeur Sanders On Notice About Behavior With Browns
