Shedeur Sanders knows it’s all about respect.
The NFL rookie, who suffered an all-time draft slide before landing with the Cleveland Browns, has offered the perfect response after the veteran in the quarterback room fired him a warning.
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Joe Flacco, a Super Bowl-winning signal caller with 18 years of experience in the league, last week took issue with the idea that his only role is to be a ‘mentor’ to the younger guys on the roster.
He told reporters: “I tend to try to be honest, and I’ve said, ‘I’m not a mentor. I play football.’ In a quarterback room, there’s a lot of times — there’s been already a ton of times — where there’s learning experiences.
“I have a lot of experience, and I can talk on things, and hopefully they listen.
“But it’s not necessarily my job to make sure they listen to me.”
Flacco’s message was clear — he’s in Cleveland to play week in, week out.
He wants that starting role, and doesn’t want to watch from the sidelines.
Sanders, meanwhile, will have hopes of one day challenging for the starting job.
Coming into the 2025 draft, he was touted as a top prospect, before shockingly sliding to the fifth round where the Browns picked him up with the 144th pick.
Much of that fall was likely linked to his perceived attitude, with reports in the days leading up to the draft that anonymous scouts and coaches had been teeing off on his ‘entitled’ character and ability.
But following Flacco’s warning, Sanders has already dispelled some of those negative claims, and has proved already that he’ll respect the hierarchy in Cleveland.
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During a recent livestream, the 23-year-old was tidying up his locker when he revealed that he has been paying his dues to his team’s veteran QB.
“I know that when I’m a vet, I’m going to have a rookie organise my locker every day, before he leaves,” Sanders told his followers.
“Here’s the thing, if Flacco told me to do this every day, I would do it.
“Real talk, I go to him every day and say, ‘Bruh, you good? Do you need anything?’
“It’s respect, you feel me? Ask him.”
Sanders, it seems, is going out of his way to make a good impression on his teammates.
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Footage of his revelation was re-shared on social media over the weekend, and led to a number of fans lauding him for his attitude.
“Doesn’t sound like a guy that needs to be humbled like most of the pundits said,” one person wrote.
“Real team player,” another claimed.
“Shedeur Sanders knows the value of being a team player and showing respect to the vets,” a third said.
“I’ve seen enough. Make Joe the starter and let Sanders learn behind him for a year,” a fourth suggested.
Flacco, with his 18 years of NFL experience, is expected to start for the Browns in Week 1.
He and Sanders share the quarterback room with another rookie, third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, and former first-round selection Kenny Pickett.
That means there is plenty of competition for the starting role.
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Sanders has not only been impressing fans with his locker room attitude, but he is also performing during practice sessions too, and posted some solid stats during team drills last week.
He also appeared to break one of Baker Mayfield’s NFL records during an earlier session.
But only time will tell if that will be enough to see him move up the depth chart, perhaps to back-up Flacco ahead of Gabriel and Pickett.
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