Two egregious speeding violations and a missed court appearance aren’t exactly helping rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ case for a roster spot on the 2025 Cleveland Browns. But as one former Cleveland head coach sees it, things could be much, much worse.
‘I don’t love it from a fifth-round draft pick,’ Eric Mangini said of Shedeur during a recent appearance on FS1’s ‘The Herd’ with Colin Cowherd. ‘I don’t love that it’s happened multiple times.’
Mangini, 54, then suggested the 23-year-old Sanders is struggling without the presence of his father and long-time football coach, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.
‘I do think this is the first time he’s away from his dad and there’s going to be some growing pains,’ Mangini said of the younger Sanders, who played for the famed ‘Coach Prime’ at Dallas’ Trinity Christian high school, Jackson State and Colorado.
Without the elder Sanders’ watchful eye, Shedeur has been ticketed within the last few weeks for driving 91mph in a 65mph zone and 101mph in a 60mph zone. And it was that second violation that led to the revelation of the first, as well as a missed court appearance.
The Browns have said they are handling the situation internally and Shedeur will take care of the tickets, all of which is fine by Mangini. When Cowherd criticized Shedeur’s maturity, Mangini dismissed the separate speeding tickets as ‘growing pains.’
Shedeur Sanders walks off the field after Cleveland Browns mandatory minicamp
Shedeur Sanders’ pickup truck is pictured on the side of the road in this police footage
Eric Mangini (pictured) served as the Cleveland Browns head coach in 2009 and 2010
‘Would I sell my stock on it like you are? Not because of a couple of speeding tickets,’ Mangini said. ‘Especially in the light of the problems the Browns quarterback room has had to deal with legally in the last few years — this is nothing.’
Mangini didn’t specify which Browns quarterback he was referring to, but it the likely signal caller is injured Deshaun Watson, who has settled nearly two dozen sexual misconduct lawsuits in recent years.
Shedeur did not back away from his mistake when speaking to reporters at Browns minicamp.
‘I’ve made some wrong choices personally, I can own up to them,’ Sanders said. ‘I made some not great choices. I learn from them. I learned.’
Sanders recently completed his first minicamp with the Browns and is now off until July 18, when rookies are required to report to Cleveland’s 2025 training camp.
He recently signed a four-year, $4.6 million deal that included his $447,000 signing bonus – which represents the only guaranteed portion of the deal.
That’s significant, because if Sanders is facing a crowded depth chart at quarterback as he attempts to make the Browns as a rookie. The team currently has veteran Joe Flacco, journeyman backup Kenny Pickett and injured former starter Deshaun Watson, not to mention Shedeur’s fellow rookie, Dillon Gabriel.
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi believes that Sanders’ roster spot isn’t ‘guaranteed’ and projects he’ll have to improve to move up the depth chart.
