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The Cleveland Browns have officially named Shedeur Sanders as their backup quarterback to fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel for their Week 6 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers days after trading veteran Joe Flacco.
“Shedeur will be the backup,” head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Friday (October 10) via the New York Post. “I’m always thinking about our players and what’s best for our players. And I want to make sure when it comes to young football players, particularly at the quarterback position, that you are intentional about your decision-making, and that’s really all it is. So, excited for all our guys.”
Sanders, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback and his former University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, was selected in the fifth-round, two rounds after Gabriel, and began training camp as the team's No. 4 quarterback.
“I think the big thing there is all of us play our role throughout the week and on Sunday,” Stefanski said. “And obviously that backup quarterback role is a little bit different. We’re doing everything we can to support the starter, and then you have to be ready in a moment’s notice. That’s just the life of backup players at every position. And we’ve said that here, over the years, that you have to stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. But again, that’s our job as coaches, as players, to be ready when called upon.”
Flacco was traded to the AFC North Division rival Cincinnati Bengals -- the first trade ever made between the teams -- days after he was benched for Gabriel ahead of their Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London. Gabriel threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns on 19 of 33 passing last Sunday (October 5).