Former CU Buffs star Shedeur Sanders says he’s ‘ready to play right now’

Former Colorado Buffaloes star Shedeur Sanders has been garnering a lot of attention recently after a report came out that he said no to an opportunity to be drafted by the Ravens, a decision that was then explained by his father and Buffs head coach Deion Sanders a few days later. The decision to not be a backup in a good organization like Baltimore was criticized by many, while others supported the decision because they believed he would have a better chance to start for Cleveland at some point.

After Browns practice on Thursday, Sanders talked with ESPN Cleveland about how he’s been holding up mentally as the third string quarterback for the 1-2 Browns.

“I focus on each and every day, what I got to do, and just because where I am on a depth chart, don’t let that dictate my mindset each and every day, because you don’t know, what happened or what could happen. So it’s really, you know, just keeping the mindset of just staying locked in, staying in to everything, and remaining focused on the main thing,” Sanders said.

IS AN OPPORTUNITY COMING SOON?

While Deion was talking about how he never learned anything from sitting on the bench in relation to his son’s situation last week, he also made a bold prediction, saying that Shedeur is going to get a shot sometime this year. The possibility of that is realistic, as Browns starting quarterback Joe Flacco has struggled mightily to start the year (it might be time for him to hang the cleats up finally) and no one knows what fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel brings to the table, but Shedeur needs a couple breaks to go his way.

If he does get those breaks, he feels that he’s ready, a vote of confidence that Buffs fans are used to hearing from the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. At the same time, he made sure to stay humble about where he is on the depth chart.

“I don’t think playing or not playing is in my hands. I think based on the situation, things happen, things pan out where I play, then I’ll be out there and I’ll be ready to play. I’m ready to play right now,” Sanders said.

SHEDEUR STILL HAS CONFIDENCE

For those who watched him in his two preseason outings, Sanders played a solid game in his first shot with a pair of touchdowns, but struggled mightily in the second, as all the flaws that dropped him to the fifth round of the draft showed. However, he feels like he could step out on the field for some teams right now and be a better option than whatever product they’re putting out there.

“I know you see the quarterback play in the league right now. I know I’m capable of doing better than that,” Sanders said.

He’s not wrong about the quarterback play. Twenty-three of 37 qualified quarterbacks are averaging less than 225 yards per game through the air, and 13 of them have thrown at least three interceptions. Sixteen quarterbacks also have a negative EPA per play and a success rate of less than 44%. Would Sanders be better than some of those quarterbacks? The tape from his final preseason game doesn’t back it up, but his confidence does.

At the end of the day, it seems like he’s in a much better spot mentally, and is doing everything in his power to improve on his current situation, something that all Buffs fans should be rooting for.

“I’m not comfortable being a scout team player,” Sanders said. “Honestly, that’s my situation. So, I’m gonna make the best of it and enjoy my moments. But overall, this isn’t my end goal, I’m just enjoying myself, learning, doing everything I have to do, and just ready for my opportunity.”

Check out ESPN Cleveland’s full interview with the former Colorado star here.

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