BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Trying to get his jersey number back is the least of Shedeur Sanders’ worries.
With and trying to prove critics wrong after sliding to the fifth round in the NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback knows he has a long way to go before he even considers making an offer to receiver DeAndre Carter to wear No. 2.
“I’m not trying to buy anything. My signing bonus ain’t that high right now,” Sanders said at the end of his 13-minute availability with the media before Saturday’s practice at rookie minicamp.
Sanders took No. 12 because he said it was the best number available. It also doesn’t hurt that it was the number Tom Brady wore en route to seven Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady said during a podcast appearance earlier this week that he texted Sanders after the draft and told him to use his slide to the 144th overall pick as motivation. Brady was the 199th pick in the 2000 draft.
“There were a lot of fans of me, my craft and my family that was there to support (me). I was just thankful that I have that foundation overall,” Sanders said.
While Sanders’ fall in the draft could be attributed to some of the comments from his father — Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders — he knows that everything from here on out is up to him.
“I’m taking every snap out there; I’m getting up after these hits. I’m the one throwing touchdowns. I’m the one that got to live it day by day. So all he gave us was the opportunity, and we had to navigate and see what we liked,” Sanders said. “And especially coming to this building, we have great coaches in the building able to keep me focused, keep me in a straight and narrow line.”
When it comes to the negative comments, Sanders did add that he feels most of it comes from older fans instead of those his own age or younger, and that most of it is because of his famous father.
“Ninety-nine percent of hatred is towards pops and then I’m just his son, so it really just comes from that. And I’ve told him that too,” he said. “It’s the older generation that do it to me rather than the younger people because when I come in person there’s no negativity I see. But it’s all over online.”
Sanders and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel got plenty of snaps over the two days of practices. Besides trying to learn the playbook, there is refining technique and also trying to learn how to take snaps under center regularly.
Because the veterans have not had a chance to do any 11-on-11 drills yet during their offseason program, head coach Kevin Stefanski said some of the plays installed for the rookies were to get an on-field look and assess for the first time.
Gabriel said he is not trying to get caught up in any distractions, and is welcoming the chance to compete with Sanders through the offseason program and training camp.
“I love it because of who it is. I think just for us both, you can learn from one another,” Gabriel said. “But also, it’s not just us two in the room. At least for right now it is. But going into the year, Kenny (Pickett), Joe (Flacco) and even Deshaun (Watson), just a bunch of guys who played a bunch of ball that we can all learn from one another.”
The rookies will join the veterans on Monday but won’t take the field for a couple of days as the workload increases. With a four-way competition between Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders, Stefanski left open the possibility of one or two more receivers than usual being on the 90-man roster for training camp.
Even though DeShaun Watson is expected to miss the season as he recovers from tearing his Achilles twice, Stefanski said Watson is out of his walking boot, continues to rehab, and has been in the meeting room with Pickett and Flacco.
“There’s no easy way to just pour an install into a person and say, ‘Here’s our offense, here’s our playbook, figure it out.’ It just takes time,” Stefanski said. “This’s just not something that you can just pick up and snap your fingers. I wish it was so; there’s just a lot of meetings. You’re going to make mistakes — both physical and mental — and what we’re trying to do is coach off of those and learn from those.”
Sanders said the important thing he will focus on over the next couple of months is trying to improve daily.
“I just find something I want to perfect and just perfect it to the best of my abilities,” he said. “I’m just thankful for an opportunity. Things could have been a lot worse, but I’m here smiling in front of you all at this facility right now.”
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