After a draft day slide that was one of the biggest talking points during the 2025 NFL Draft, the media got their first glimpse of Shedeur Sanders as an official member of the Cleveland Browns.
Entering a logjam in the Browns’ quarterback room, Sanders has to earn his place on the roster and appears to be taking the right steps as he impresses offensive coordinator Tommy Rees on the first day of camp.
Sanders Draws Praise From Browns’ OC On Day 1 of Rookie Minicamp
Since his draft day slide, Shedeur Sanders has received widespread criticism, be it an unimpressive tape at Colorado or the attitude problems that plagued him throughout the interview process, a lot of mud has been thrown at his wall.
However, on his end, Sanders isn’t too bothered by the criticism and is locked in on scripting a Tom Brady-like turnaround in Cleveland. His arm was in full flow during the first day of the rookie minicamp, and the 23-year-old earned quite a few complaints from Reese during the hour-long afternoon practice session.
“Good timing, that’s the timing we are after,” Rees remarked after Sanders threw down a pass.
“Good rhythm baby, I f**king love that,” he added after Sanders impressed on another throw-in.
TRENDING: #Browns OC and QB Coach Tommy Rees was extremely impressed with Shedeur Sanders during the first day of minicamp — Rees spent a lot of time with Sanders throughout practice.
“Perfect —good rhythm baby!”
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) May 11, 2025
The former Colorado QB spent the day alternating with fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel during the course of both walk-throughs and afternoon practice. Sanders was always second to go between the two in those drills, and outworking the third-rounder is the first step towards becoming the QB1 for him.
Sanders is determined to do so and is taking inspiration from the best in the business, Tom Brady. Instead of bemoaning his current situation, the seven-time Super Bowl Champion wanted Sanders to learn from the situation and use it as fuel for his career.
“Use it as motivation. You’re gonna get your chances, just go take advantage of it,” he said.
Drawing examples from his career and some of his most legendary teammates, Brady noted them down. “Rodney Harrison wasn’t a high pick, Julian Edelman wasn’t a high pick, Wes Welker wasn’t a high pick. What does it matter? Other than some overhyped day where a lot of people are selling stories?”
In the end, he parted with some advice for how the new rookie in Cleveland could find success on the team. “He’s got to show up every day. What I say about leadership, as a quarterback, you have to be a leader.”
Sanders is showing up every day at the camp for now and appears determined to prove his first-round potential right.