Pritchard Backs Browns Starting Flacco at QB Over Shedeur Sanders

Joe Flacco and Shedeur Sanders at Browns camp (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Colorado Buffaloes great Mike Pritchard believes the Cleveland Browns made the right decision in going with Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback and entering the year with Shedeur Sanders as a backup.

The Browns recently announced that they would go with the 40-year-old veteran as their starting quarterback entering the season. Cleveland had held a quarterback competition that featured rookies Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and veteran Kenny Pickett.

Pritchard says Sanders should "sit out the entire year" as a backup. He says he believes his upside is "tremendous," but he doesn't want him to suffer setbacks in his rookie year with a team that's not ready to compete.

"I hope he sits out the entire year," says Pritchard in a one-on-one interview with RG. "To be honest with you, I think Shedeur and his upside are tremendous. If you don't manage that the right way, he could suffer setbacks, meaning if he's thrust into the action. Now, the caveat is that Joe Flacco is Joe Flacco, and I don't know if he's going to last the entire season."

The Colorado Hall of Fame wide receiver says that head coach Kevin Stefanski is throwing "darts" on the board right now.

"It seems like Cleveland's throwing darts right now at the dart board, and Stefanski, with his familiarity with Flacco is going to be helpful, but they're not the same dominant run team that they were when they had Chubb and that dominant offensive line as well," says Pritchard. "That division is a culture division too. I think Baltimore and Cincinnati with the talent level, and then you throw in Pittsburgh with some experience and really nothing to lose this year. That's going to be tough for Cleveland."

What Browns Should do With Shedeur

Considering the Browns are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL, Pritchard says it would be a "waste" of Sanders' talent to throw him out there. The Browns have the lowest projected over/under win total at 4.5 wins among all NFL teams. 

"I hope Shedeur has the opportunity to learn what it takes to be an NFL quarterback, a starter one, then a leader, two, and then certainly a quarterback with heightened expectations," says Pritchard. "Right now, Cleveland doesn't have heightened expectations, and if you're just going to throw him out there to see what he can do, I think that's wasting his talent. Certainly, I think there's a tremendous upside with Shedeur Sanders."

When asked if he believes the Browns will go with Sanders as the next starting quarterback if Flacco falters or gets injured, Pritchard says that he's unsure which direction they will head. Sanders has been considered the fourth-string quarterback during the entire training camp and preseason period, although he did start the first preseason game.

"That is a million dollar question to be honest with you," says Pritchard on the Browns' next QB1. "How do they keep all these guys on a roster? You got so many roster spots and you certainly got a practice squad, but we know that players can get plucked off the practice squad. You have to be delicate. Certainly there's a chance that you could put them on an injured reserve situation and therefore you protect them and you protect yourself as well in terms of later in the year or perhaps next year."

Pritchard says Sanders' name will be "in the mix" considering the uncertainty surrounding the Browns' quarterback depth chart.

"I think his name will be in the mix," says Pritchard. "But again, you know your backup is not a guy who stays healthy, so I don't know how much confidence you have with that. With Gabriel, I just don't see him leading the Cleveland Browns the way that they need to be led this year. We'll see what happens. Like I said, Deshaun's trying to push the envelope and get back out there, but that remains to be seen."

Pritchard’s Take on Falcons

The 55-year-old Pritchard was a first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 1991 after winning the national championship in 1990 with the Buffaloes. The 5-foot-10 receiver spent three seasons with the Falcons, was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team, and posted 201 catches for 2,187 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The current incarnation of the Falcons has struggled to seal the deal, coming up just short of winning the NFC South in recent seasons, including last year when they entered the final week with an opportunity to do so. Pritchard says he has confidence in young quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and the rest of the nucleus to make a run for NFC South supremacy against the Buccaneers.

A big key to their success will be the continued development of Penix. The 2024 first-round draft pick showed some promise in his three starts towards the end of the season. He went 1-2 as the starter, with two overtime losses. Penix racked up 312 passing yards for 8.2 yards per pass attempt in the season finale against the Carolina Panthers.

Pritchard says he has a difficult time comparing Penix to any quarterback considering he's a lefty, but says that he's like any other quarterback who has been successful early on.

"It's hard to compare him, because he's left-handed," says Pritchard. "I don't want to go to Steve Young, I don't want to do that. But I think if I can take the fact that he's left-handed out of it, he's just like any other quarterback that has been successful in the league early on. You think about CJ Stroud and how successful he was surrounded by the right people. Same thing with Jayden. These guys, they have the right pieces around them. 

For Daniels, it fit because he had Kingsbury too, and he was going to run a similar offense that he ran in college, a pro-style offense. And then just getting used to the speed of the game. Sitting out as long as he did last year is going to help. I love the fact that he toys in the pocket. He's intensely accurate as well, so he's got all the tools. It's just that the comparison is hard, because he's a left-hander."