Robert Griffin III knows what it takes to make an instant impact as a rookie quarterback in the NFL. But he also knows that in Shedeur Sanders’ case, his chances of doing so may not be all that great given his historic slide in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Griffin has been quite adamant in the weeks following the 2025 NFL Draft that Sanders’ slide in the draft was a “personal” decision made by NFL front offices, whether that be due to his perceived personality or some kind of vendetta against his father, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.
Shedeur will now be tasked with fighting his way up the Cleveland Browns quarterback depth chart that features two established veterans in Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett above him, along with Dillon Gabriel, who the Browns selected ahead of him in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Speaking candidly about Sanders’ fit on the Browns in a nine-minute discussion on Monday’s edition of his podcast, Outta Pocket with RGIII, Griffin outlined how both the organization and the NFL as a whole have set Sanders up to “sink or swim” in his rookie season if he makes the Browns 53-man roster.
“It’s horrible,” said Griffin of Sanders’ fit on the Browns. “It’s an absolutely terrible position for a QB to be in. Let’s get real, people. This is the thing nobody wants to talk about. Shedeur Sanders is in a situation where the NFL and the Cleveland Browns have set him up to sink or swim in Year 1. What I really mean by that is, they set him up to fail. Shedeur Sanders is the fourth quarterback on the Cleveland Browns roster. But let me talk to you about the other guys that they have on the roster.
“Joe Flacco, the de facto starter that everyone with a football brain believes will be their starting quarterback barring injury, is a Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP. Yes, I know he’s 40 years old. But they just brought him in this offseason before they drafted Shedeur Sanders. The next quarterback, Kenny Pickett. Yes, he’s been on two other teams. But guess what? The Cleveland Browns traded for him this offseason. That gives you two quarterbacks with experience on the roster, that you would think this is the de facto starter and the de facto backup. But not only that, they didn’t just bring in Joe Flacco, the Super Bowl champ and Super Bowl MVP. They didn’t just trade for Kenny Pickett. They also drafted a quarterback in the third round by the name of Dillon Gabriel.”
Griffin would go on to say that, unlike other positions, Sanders won’t get the kind of reps necessary in training camp as a fourth-string quarterback to even prove that he has what it takes to make the Browns’ Week 1 roster, even though Sanders may be the biggest name in the Browns quarterback room based on strictly popularity.
Based on the Browns’ recent track record at the quarterback position, it’s fair to question whether Sanders would even succeed in the ideal situation where he was a higher pick by the team.
Maybe Sanders will surprise some people in Cleveland throughout training camp and preseason. However, given the fact that the team invested so little in Sanders, it’s hard to argue that it will be anything but an uphill battle for Sanders to see the field.