Hall of Famer implores Browns to follow Bears' blueprint with Shedeur Sanders

While Shedeur Sanders refuses to point any fingers at his head coach’s playcalling or teammates’ miscues, the finger pointing towards the Cleveland Browns’ organization for Sanders’ struggles is alive and well.

This time around, a Hall of Fame wide receiver close to Sanders’ father, Deion Sanders, put the club on blast after a humiliating defeat by 31-3 to the Chicago Bears.

Michael Irvin didn’t mince any words when calling out the Browns’ lack of talent on the offensive line and among his wide receivers as causes for Shedeur Sanders’ poor performance against Chicago. However, he also noted how the Browns’ rival quarterback for the day had overcome the exact same rookie problems Sanders is presently facing.

“We watched Shedeur last week have a pretty good game. This week, not so much. But, not so much for a number of reasons. First of all, it felt like he was running for his life. Coincidentally, I was thinking about this. I watched Shedeur running around, running around, running for his life cause protection isn’t worth a darn. I watched him with some of the guys he’s playing with, and I don’t think they’re worth a darn. His top receiver, Jerry Jeudy, I mean. Yeah, he certainly can use a talent upgrade all around.

“...And, I’ma tell you my hope and what I hope he’s looking at, when he looks over and sees Caleb Williams. Caleb Williams threw for 242 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Chicago beat ‘em 31-3, but here’s what I was saying. I hope Shedeur is looking at Caleb Williams saying, ‘Man, he was having the same kind of rough season his first season.’ But they brought in a coach, and the coach has taken a system and put it around his talent, and Chicago’s doing pretty good and turned the thing around pretty fast. And I thought it was interesting as I was watching the game, and I’m saying, I wonder if Shedeur is looking at Caleb Williams and saying, ‘Hmm. that may be my track, you know? Let me gather all the information I can right now. I don’t know who’s gonna be here next year. And you know, hopefully get some people that can really help me do some things.’”

Sanders had a tough evening in Chicago, completing just 18 out of 35 attempts for 177 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions in chilly conditions. He was also the team’s leading rusher with 24 yards on two carries. For the year, Sanders has completed 72 out of his 138 passing attempts for 946 yards and five touchdowns against six interceptions, while his record as a starter has now fallen to 1-3. His 52.2 completion percentage places him 48th in the league.

As the first overall pick in 2024, Williams suffered through a 5-12 debut season as a starter, handicapped in large part by a lack of protection that led to him being sacked a league-leading 68 times. This year though, the Bears put a lot of effort and resources in their O-line and brought in a first-time coordinator in Declan Boyle, resulting in Williams looking significantly better at the helm of a 10-4 team with its mind on postseason play.

Meanwhile, Cleveland is 3-11 and have been projected with the second best odds at landing the first overall pick for next year’s draft, which could very well be a quarterback.

Irvin, of course, is no stranger to rebuilding a franchise after playing as a second-year vet on a 1-15 Dallas Cowboys team in 1989 where Troy Aikman went 0-15 as a rookie starter. This team later went on to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span, including the last one with Deion Sanders on the roster.

Turnarounds don’t usually happen from one year to another, and Cleveland could be facing a tough road ahead if they decide to make a change at the head coaching position, as well. But always searching for ways to offload responsibilities from Shedeur Sanders’ shoulders by assigning them to others isn’t the way to go, as Sanders himself has proven.

Yes, the Browns desperately need to make improvements in several areas of their roster like Irvin argues, but at the same time, Sanders hasn’t shown definitely that he’s “who they’re looking for”, as he stated before the Raiders Week 12 game, his only win as a professional starting quarterback to this day.