Despite a solid preseason debut, quarterback Shedeur Sanders is still at the bottom of the Cleveland Browns’ depth chart.
As a fifth-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, it made perfect sense that he opened training camp as QB4.
However, not even some injuries to others and strong play by him were enough to help Sanders move up.
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said people shouldn’t read too much into that.
“A lot of times depth charts don’t mean a darn thing. They just give them out so people can have something to talk about, but in their mind, they already know where things are starting to trend,” Riddick said on “First Take.”
"A lot of times depth charts don't mean a darn thing."
@LRiddickESPN isn't putting too much thought into Shedeur Sanders being listed as the Browns' No. 4 QB in the preseason ✍️ pic.twitter.com/1Cij0R3qKR— First Take (@FirstTake) August 13, 2025
Unfortunately, Sanders sustained an oblique injury and was held out of a joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles.
He was announced as the starter for the upcoming preseason game, but further reports said he likely won’t play at all.
Joint practices can say a lot about a rookie and where he is in his development, and Sanders needs to make the most of any opportunity.
Hopefully, the Browns ruled him out as a precaution and this won’t be anything serious.
He can’t afford to miss a single rep, knowing that he’s still behind three other quarterbacks and won’t get as many chances as Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett or Dillon Gabriel.
The clock is ticking, and though it’s unlikely that anybody will take the QB1 job from Flacco, Sanders could make a strong push to be QB2.
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