Shedeur Sanders Could Get Second Start In Row ... This Time Against Defending Super Bowl Champions

From fourth-team reps in practice to possibly starting his second preseason game in the span of one week. That's how far and how fast circumstances have promoted Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders recently.

On Wednesday, before a joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski shared his initial thoughts on the team's quarterback rotation for Saturday's preseason game. 

Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel addressed all of the attention that has gone to his teammate Shedeur Sanders. (Getty Images)

Browns Monitor Gabriel Hamstring

If he's healthy, rookie Dillon Gabriel probably starts. Except that's a major unknown because Gabriel hasn't proven he's healthy. 

He is still getting comfortable after tweaking his hamstring and missing practice time recently. So the next two practices are huge for him.

Well, what about Kenny Pickett? Unlikely. He's also nursing a hamstring and hasn't even returned to full practice yet. Pickett is limited to 7-on-7 work but hasn't worked himself all the way back to full team drills.

Joe Flacco? Stop messin'. He's the team's 40-year-old veteran who is getting most, if not all, the first-team repetitions in practice and is all but certain to stay out of the preseason lineup because the Browns want to make sure he makes it to his starting assignment for the regular-season opener.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns is not happy with the referees during his team's game against the San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Shedeur Sanders Fully Healthy

That leaves Sanders, no? Yes.

"Yeah, I guess if those guys could not play, yes," coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters. "We're working through that."

The major variable is Gabriel because, while he has returned to team drills, coaches want to monitor his mobility and comfort level before putting him out there. 

The club is wary of Gabriel aggravating the hamstring injury, so Stefanski was not ready to commit to him over Sanders. The Browns did give Gabriel some first-team repetitions in the team period on Wednesday, but only a handful.

He was mostly working with the second-stringers.

"We were always going to play our young guys a lot in these games," Stefanski said. "So we'll see how it shakes out here over the next couple of days."

Cleveland radio host Ken Carman unloaded a rant about Shedeur Sanders as the QB fights to make the Browns. Will Sanders make the active roster? (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Sanders Versus Super Bowl Champs

It could shake out that Sanders starts and gets a lot of playing time. That's obviously how it worked last week and Sanders responded with a very good outing in the preseason opener against Carolina. 

That performance has Browns fans laser-focused on Sanders and what he might do for an encore. And it's not just the Browns fans, because this guy is an attention magnet, so his every move is monitored and dissected by the media and others.

The stunning thing is, Sanders was hidden for a bit before last week. Well, not hidden. But he was running fourth-team on the depth chart.

He's still running fourth-team but, again, the circumstances don't give a rip about the Browns' depth chart. The circumstances may dictate Sanders starts again.

This time against the defending Super Bowl Champion Eagles.