Bomani Jones baffled by Shedeur Sanders conspiracies

As Shedeur Sanders’ defenders fall all over themselves to make excuses for the rookie quarterback, Bomani Jones remains a voice of reason.

Sanders made his much-anticipated NFL debut for the Cleveland Browns Sunday afternoon when fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel was forced to exit the game with a concussion. With Sanders going 4-of-16 passing for 47 yards, one interception and a fumble in the loss to Baltimore, it was a bad day for Sanders, it was also a bad day for Sanders’ defenders.

Some of those defenders, however, would not be deterred, with Josina Anderson and others taking the brutal statline and blaming the Browns for not giving Sanders first-team reps. Despite being the backup quarterback and a third-stringer for most of the season, speculation still ran rampant about whether the Browns intently set him up to fail. While head coach Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns might not believe in Sanders being their future, Bomani Jones noted it would ultimately be a positive for them if he succeeds.

@righttimebomani The harsh reality for Shedeur Sanders after his flop against the Ravens 😳 #NFL #ShedeurSanders #Browns ♬ original sound – The Right Time w/ Bomani Jones

“I just don’t understand why everybody thinks that the world is against this rich kid,” Jones said on Monday’s The Right Time. “I don’t understand the grand conspiracy against somebody who kind of makes money for people if he gets out there. I would think that they want him to be good if anything else. Stefanski clearly does not believe, and I do believe that Stefanski probably has an investment in being right. The bottom line is, they don’t think he’s got a future. I don’t think they’re trying to run him out of the league, they don’t think there’s a future in him. They think there’s a future in Dillon Gabriel.”

The Browns might not be capable of developing a quarterback. Their history with Baker Mayfield, Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden, Colt McCoy, and Johnny Manziel doesn’t bode well for Sanders or Gabriel. But that doesn’t mean Sanders’ brutal debut was all part of Cleveland’s grand plan to fail him, as Cam Newton might believe.

“There’s nothing that they believe Shedeur Sanders can show to make them believe, ‘hey, maybe we don’t need to draft a quarterback next year. We’ve got this guy.’ I don’t think Shedeur is that good,” Jones continued. “I don’t think he’s gonna be that good. But if you think he’s going to be good and then you see him and he doesnt look good, is it always going to be, ‘yeah, but…’”

Shedeur Sanders was really bad in his NFL debut. That doesn’t mean he can’t still prove his doubters wrong and have a successful NFL career. It just means he was really bad Sunday afternoon. And regardless of whether you believe in Sanders or not, everyone who watched him Sunday should just say he was really bad. You can certainly argue Sanders will be better with a week of preparation and first-team reps. But it’s silly to blame Sanders going 4-of-16 for 47 yards and one interception on the Browns setting him up to fail.