Browns legend Joe Thomas gives ‘Shedeur Sanders cult’ a reality check

Cleveland Browns legend Joe Thomas delivered a message to the “Shedeur Sanders cult” after the controversy the followed his performance in the team’s final preseason game.

Sanders played with the third stringers during the team’s final preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams and struggled. He entered in the third quarter and completed three of six passes for 14 yards, while taking five sacks for a loss of 41 yards.

Sanders’ defenders blamed the coaching staff for his struggles. But Thomas pushed back during a recent appearance on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich.”

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Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas (73) walks onto the field prior to the start of the third quarter of a game against the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 17, 2017, at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. Baltimore won 27-10. (2017 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images)

“There’s a lot of nuance in it, which the Shedeur Sanders cult doesn’t have. They just believe that we’re morons for not being able to see that this guy is the greatest thing since sliced bread, the greatest quarterback since Tom Brady, and he’s ready right now to be able to elevate the franchise to their first Super Bowl of all time, and we’re the idiots for not seeing it,” Thomas said.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer said he believes Sanders has a high ceiling but still needs a lot of development before becoming an NFL starter.

“I think he has a higher ceiling. He’s a great playmaker, he has tremendous accuracy, he has that feel when he is in the game of how to make those big plays. But just because you have that ceiling that’s really high and that potential to be able to do that doesn’t mean you can do it right now,” Thomas said.

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) enters the field before the game between the Browns and the Los Angeles Rams at Huntington Bank Field.  (Ken Blaze/Imagn Images)

“And as a first-round talent, that’s typically the guy that they are able to put right in there right away and give them everything that they have and there’s growing pains with every quarterback, especially a rookie. I think the reason Shedeur fell to the fifth round is because they feel like he’s got a lot of development that he still needs to do before he can be an NFL starting quarterback.”

The 10-time Pro Bowler said there is no conspiracy to sabotage Sanders — if anything, the opposite, since the better Sanders is, the more attention he can draw to the sport.

“The reality of the NFL Draft is that you have 32 teams that all want to beat each other, and so they’re not conspiring together to sabotage somebody who, by the way, would be great for the league. And he is great for the league because the league wants eyeballs,” Thomas said.

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Hall of Fame member Joe Thomas enters the ceremonies at the Pro Football Hall of Fame-Class of 2025 enshrinement ceremonies  at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Aug. 2, 2025, in Canton, Ohio.  (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)

“They want people watching their games, they want these great personalities, and so there is no reason — there is no reason they would be trying to conspire against him and sabotage him. Actually, the opposite: They want to promote a guy like that because he is so great for the league. It doesn’t make sense on any level.”

Sanders will enter the season as the team’s No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart. Joe Flacco will start when the Browns open against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, with Dillon Gabriel as his backup.

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