If rookie minicamp was any indication of what’s to come, the Cleveland Browns are going to again be the center of attention as the NFL offseason picks up, and for good reason.
Cleveland will have the most intriguing quarterback competition thanks to one guy, Shedeur Sanders.
As Sanders continued to fall throughout the draft, it was becoming increasingly more likely that the Browns could take him off the board. Then, at pick 144, they traded up and submitted the card and added Sanders to their quarterback mix.
That decision added another face and the biggest personality to an already crowded room. Before Cleveland took Sanders, the team shocked the entire league with its selection of quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Since the draft, it has become common knowledge that Gabriel was Cleveland’s guy.
These two rookies will get their shot against the two veterans in the room, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. It is likely that only three of the four will survive the offseason, so who is going to be the odd man out? Time will tell, but the eyes of the entire football world will be locked in on Berea.
NFL Insider Ian Rapoport joined the Pat McAfee Show on Monday and made a major claim about the Browns this offseason.
“I expect (Cleveland) to be the center of OTAs. I expect (Cleveland) to be the center of training camp… It does remind me hype-wise of the Manziel years, where cameras were at Browns training camp every day.”
Sanders has a gravity to him that is unlike anything we have seen in Cleveland. All of the big names that came through Cleveland in the past had something controversial to their name.
Manziel’s years were stained with his unwillingness to stop partying, Odell Beckham Jr. came to town with a lot of baggage and Baker Mayfield had a cockiness to him that was a part of his personality.
The only negative on Shedeur is that his dad is Deion Sanders. Other than that, he has never been in trouble, he is by all accounts a great teammate, and he is a great young quarterback.
Every time he takes the field in Cleveland, he is going to have the eyes of the world on him. People will be hanging on to every move he makes in practice and especially every move he makes in the preseason.
This offseason will be an exciting one for the Browns. Here’s to hoping it will also be a productive one.