Bill Cowher calls for Browns to commit to Shedeur Sanders

· Yahoo Sports

Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images, CBS

The Cleveland Browns have gotten off to a better start to the NFL season than anyone expected.

Visit amunra-opinie.pl for more information.

The longtime basement dwellers of the league were 5–3 heading into Sunday’s showdown on the road against the New Orleans Saints. Cleveland had to make one significant change to the lineup before their game on Sunday, with backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders stepping up to start due to Deshaun Watson missing the week’s worth of practice while in the league’s concussion protocol.

The Browns ultimately lost to the Saints 23–22 in overtime, but Sanders showed enough skill to have Browns fans excited for what could be in store for their young quarterback, and even convinced some analysts that it was time for Cleveland to embrace the future.

Speaking after the game, former Steelers coach Bill Cowher was adamant that the Browns should commit to Sanders under center full time, even if Watson were to be available next week.

“I would just say this: Moving forward, Shedeur Sanders should be the starter for this football team,” Cowher said. “He’s going to be the future. And I think what he showed today, his resilience, continued to come back. He made great decisions, he extended plays. I love the way he played and I would move forward with him.”

When cohost Nate Burleson asked if Cowher believed Watson hadn’t played well enough to get his job back when healthy, Cowher said it was more important to look into the future.

“One person’s unfortunate situation creates another person’s opportunity. I just think that right now, what I saw from Shedeur Sanders, I would move forward. Because he is the future of your football team.”

While it might sound odd for a team to consider starting its 0–1 backup quarterback over its 5–3 starting quarterback when both are healthy,  the game that Sanders played on Sunday showed why it might be worth looking into for the Browns.

Sanders finished the game 297 passing yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. His QB rating was 114.6 on the day. In Watson’s eight starts this season, he’s cleared 270 yards passing just twice, thrown for two touchdowns just twice, and has never done both in the same game. Just one of his eight starts saw him record a QB rating in the triple digits.

Further, Sanders was able to deliver in crunch time when the Browns needed him, creating space and throwing an impressive pass in the final minute to put his team in position to kick a game-tying field goal to force overtime.

Beyond his play on the field, there’s plenty more extremely simple reasons the Browns might want to get a head start on the potential Sanders era. First and foremost, Watson is still the same guy that was accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women before joining the Browns. His contract has also been an albatross since the moment it was signed, and will go down as one of the worst in NFL history. While the 5–3 start may have felt somewhat vindicating for the crowd that signed Watson to his ridiculous deal in the first place, the sooner the team can move on from it, the better. We’re still only a few months removed from Watson criticizing Browns fans for having the audacity to boo him.

Further, it’s best for the Browns to figure out as soon as possible whether or not Sanders really is the team’s next franchise quarterback, or if they are going to have to go back to the draft to find another in the coming seasons. Giving him a shot now could go a long way towards finding an answer there, and thus giving the Browns a better idea of how to approach the coming offseason.

The complicating factor here, at least to the Browns, may be the fact that for the first time in recent memory, their team doesn’t stink. With Watson holding a winning record and Sanders now 0–1, they might not be able to stomach giving the keys to the young player over the veteran when the move could backfire. That said, Watson has had literally four years to show he’s good enough to lead the Browns to victory, and has only started showing signs of such an ability this year and $200 million later.

Whatever the Browns decide to do, for the first time in a long time, their decision might have a legitimate impact on the playoff picture across the league.

The post Bill Cowher calls for Browns to commit to Shedeur Sanders appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Read full story at source