The quarterback competition is officially underway for the Cleveland Browns, and it took center stage when Dillon Grabiel and Shedeur Sanders arrived for rookie minicamp. While it was just the start of what’s going to be a long process all throughout the summer, fans were locked in on every detail and update as both rookies took the practice field for the first time.
Now, Sanders and Gabriel will join veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, as the four compete to see who’s the best quarterback. Of course, on-field performance will be the most discussed part of this battle, but one of the most important factors will be mastery of the playbook and system. The starting quarterback needs to know the playbook like they designed it, and that will help with their on-field execution.
Aside from Flacco, the three other quarterbacks who joined Cleveland this offseason will be learning Kevin Stefanki’s offense for the first time. While that’s typically a tough challenge, especially for rookies, Shedeur Sanders will have a bit of an advantage as he learns the Browns’ offensive playbook.
In an interview for Cleveland Browns Daily, Nathan Zegura asked Sanders about the benefits of going from Pat Shurmur (Colorado Offensive Coordinator) to Stefanski, considering the two coach’s history with each other. The rookie quarterback explained that it’s been great for multiple reasons. The first reason: Shurmur can tell Stefanski who Sanders really is.
The other reason, and the thing that could help Sanders in the quarterback competition, is that there are similarities in the offensive systems run by the coaches, and the first-year quarterback believes that’s helping him get up to speed quickly in Cleveland.
"A lot of the offense that we did at Colorado, parts of it that we learned, is similar. The game slowed down for me a little bit, I’ll say, and I’m excited for it."Shedeur Sanders on Browns offense
Shedeur Sanders’ experience with Pat Shurmur is helping him quickly learn Kevin Stefanski’s offense
Shurmur, who spent years in the NFL as a coach, including two seasons as head coach of the Browns in 2011 and 2012, worked with Stefanski on the Minnesota Vikings for two years. Shurmur was the tight ends coach and offensive coordinator, and Stefanski was the running backs coach and quarterbacks coach. When Shurmur got the head coaching job with the New York Giants in 2018, he wanted to bring Stefanski with him as his offensive coordinator, but the Vikings blocked that request before eventually making Stefanski their new OC.
Shurmur went to Colorado with the Sanders family in 2023 as an offensive analyst, but took over as the offensive coordinator late in the 2023 season and for all of the 2024 season. That means he got to work hand in hand with Shedeur Sanders, who he speaks highly of, and teach him an offense that’s similar to the one he’s learning as a pro.
Obviously, Shurmur didn’t teach Sanders Cleveland’s exact playbook, but like the quarterback said, there are parts that are similar, and the philosophies are probably the same. Throughout the pre-draft process, Sanders frequently talked about how thankful he was for Shurmur introducing him to a lot of the NFL terminology that came up in his pre-draft meetings. Clearly, the young quarterback feels prepared for this challenge, and every little bit of knowledge can help.