Shedeur Sanders Makes His NFL Debut, Rookie Struggles In Relief

The man of the hour has come: Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders has made his NFL debut.

And it was, well, disappointing.

Starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel did not come back in the second half after sustaining a head injury.

That opened the door for Sanders to make his debut, after months of analysts, reporters, and fans calling — begging, even — to have the rookie make his debut. Gabriel’s lackluster play was fueling part of this, but the obsession seemed unwarranted.

Sanders had a chance to prove that he was the guy Cleveland had gone with all along, but he’ll have to wait until another time to remove all doubt.

In his debut against the Baltimore Ravens (an objectively hard task), he was 4 for 15 for 47 yards, threw one interception and took two sacks.

Ouch.

He did have some nice throws though, with this throw to Harold Fannin Jr. being the best of his handful of completions.

It was certainly a night to remember regardless of outcome, but it's not a stat line to write home about. Even so, Sanders began his news conference by thanking God for the chance to play in the NFL.

"First and foremost, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to get out there. It's all you can ask for honestly, a chance to get out there and get your feet wet. To experience how that feels to even be out there with the team, with the first group," Sanders said. "It truly was exciting."

Sanders was also candid with his self-assessment, a massive sign of maturity based on some interviews he's had in recent memory.

"I don't think I played good at all. I think there's a lot of things we need to look at," Sanders said.

What the future holds for Sanders is unclear and will likely depend on how quickly Gabriel recovers. Cleveland next plays the Las Vegas Raiders on the road.