Shedeur Sanders heeding the advice of Jalen Hurts will not only will help him make the Cleveland Browns 53-man roster, but it will also help him reach the same heights Hurts has in his NFL career. The defending Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP has been criticized for not being as prolific as a passer as the likes of Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes and others, but the one thing he’s done has won. And with two Super Bowl appearances and one win, Sanders should be absorbing everything he can from Hurts.
The two were seen engaging in an in depth conversation after the Browns and Philadelphia Eagles’ joint practice on Wednesday. While Hurts didn’t dive into too much about what the conversation was about, the nuggets he did drop showed Sanders is on the right track and wise to learn from one of the best.
“Ultimately, it takes a great deal of patience and hard work and a sense of resilience. You got to want it,” Hurts recalled telling Sanders, per a story in Sports Illustrated.
Shedeur Sanders taking advice from Jalen Hurts might just set Sanders up to be the franchise quarterback
That might be some of the best advice Sanders can receive at this point in his effort to make the 53-man roster. With the hype of an impressive NFL preseason debut, he should be reminded to be patient – as should many Browns fans. Clearly, Sanders wants it because as a fifth-round pick, he doesn’t have the luxury of doing the bare minimum to earn a roster spot.
Sanders has to prove every practice, every preseason game, every regular season game that the Browns made the right decision. For now, he has to prove he deserves a roster spot. And if he gets that, he can’t accept that, he has to prove why it shouldn’t have been a question he made the team and that he deserves to start.
And then, that he’s ready to be the franchise quarterback. This team needs one badly, and he can’t afford to waste the chance too while they don't have any contenders in his way. Hurts had to work his way from a second round selection to starting quarterback. Once he replaced Carson Wentz, he too had to prove the Eagles made the right decision.
His response to that wasn’t to get complacent. He helped the Eagles reach two Super Bowls, winning one last year. And that was just touching the surface of what Hurts told Sanders. If everything else he said is anything like that, Sanders might just be set.
But only if he listens to what Hurts told him and takes it at face value. Hurts knows what it’s like to go from forgotten to the top. Sanders is trying to get there. He’s made a great first impression, but his work is far from over and even if he makes the roster, the real work will begin.