The Cleveland Browns are sitting at 3-10, last in the AFC North and well out of playoff contention. But there’s a silver lining. Shedeur Sanders, son of Deion Sanders, is quietly rewriting the Browns’ rookie record books. The rookie quarterback delivered the best outing of the season against the Titans, and this did not go unnoticed.

Shedeur was named the Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Week for Week 14. The recognition got an emotional response from his family, particularly his older brother, Deion Sanders Jr.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” Sanders Jr. wrote on X. 

Even though the Browns dropped 31-29 to the Titans, Shedeur’s performance impressed on every level. He threw for a career-high 364 yards and three touchdowns, plus a rushing score. He also joined Aaron Rodgers as one of the few QBs since 2000 with four completions of 50-plus yards in their first three starts. 

Remarkably, he became the first rookie quarterback this season to surpass 300 passing yards in a game, something no Browns rookie had ever done before. But despite these flashes of brilliance, the Browns still lost the game, partly due to a controversial coaching decision.

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When head coach Kevin Stefanski pulled Shedeur out of the game before a two-point conversion. However, finally, Stefanski has named Sanders the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. The fallout from that decision exposes broader tensions beyond just game tactics.

Some analysts have started wondering if the NFL’s expectations for player behavior influenced the handling of Shedeur. Is the league hesitant about letting a young star with a unique personality take the reins fully?

Shedeur Sanders “resembles his father” in character

Shedeur’s off-season attracted its share of scrutiny. His confident and unapologetic attitude raised eyebrows. Journalist Andrew Lawrence from The Guardian tackled this issue head-on.

“There are expectations that come with being a starting quarterback in the NFL, after all. In addition to the requisite physical attributes and arm talent, the cliche dictates that quarterbacks are men of character,” Lawrence pointed out. “Players who speak in the first person plural, deflect credit, absorb blame and lead with modesty. It’s how the quarterback position became shorthand for a standard of American leadership that was largely reserved for conservative white men until recently.”

This traditional mold of a quarterback leaves little room for personalities like Shedeur’s. His draft stock fell partly due to concerns about this attitude mismatch. But Lawrence argues that Shedeur stands apart from both the historic and the modern quarterback prototypes.

“But Shedeur doesn’t even resemble the Black quarterbacks who have in the last few years broken from that tradition and transformed the league. Instead, in character at least, he resembles his father. Deion is a flashy, brash and supremely self-confident two-sport superstar universally recognized as one of the best players in NFL history,” Lawrence added.

Shedeur was initially the fourth quarterback on the Browns’ depth chart. Still, he’s climbed quickly, fueled by genuine talent and poise under pressure. Yet, despite his breakthrough, rumors of trades and quarterback shake-ups continue to swirl in Cleveland’s front office.