Shedeur Sanders's face said it all after the Browns quarterback was pulled right before the two-minute drill at the end of Saturday's preseason game against the Rams.
Sanders appeared primed for a shot at leading the Browns on a potential game-winning drive with Cleveland down 17-16 late in the fourth quarter. Cameras even caught Sanders asking for his helmet on the sidelines as he prepared to go in for the final drive.
But just before the two-minute drill, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski yanked Sanders and put in Tyler Huntley instead. Huntley went on to help the Browns clinch the win on a game-winning field goal.
Sanders opened up about his visibly upset reaction to Stefanski's decision in the heat of the moment:
"I didn’t know I was out," Sanders said. "Yeah, I didn’t know. I was on a bike. I was powering up. I was powering up for that two-minute drive because that’s just a situation every quarterback dreams for. That’s many situations I’ve been in before and I thought I was in, so then he told me I wasn’t in and I was like, ‘OK.’"
Browns rookie QB Shedeur Sanders talks about not going back in for the 2-minute drill pic.twitter.com/ad4mGPMavJ
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) August 23, 2025
"In the heat of the battle, you want to be that alpha," Sanders continued, via Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot. "You want to be that dog. You want to be out there in that final two minute drive. So of course, small things, of course frustrate, but that’s what happens when you want to be a player to be able to change a franchise."
Sanders confirmed that he had asked Stefanski during the game to let him handle the two-minute drill.
Stefanski explained that he simply wanted Huntley to close out the game amid the Browns' overall poor offensive showing in the second quarter. "That's never on one person, so we can be better in a bunch of areas and just felt like we wanted to give [Huntley] a last drive," Stefanski said in a postgame presser.
Sanders finished Saturday's outing just 3-of-6 for 14 yards and was sacked five times. Whether the Colorado product will see the field again this year is uncertain, with veteran Joe Flacco set to start under center for the Browns when their 2025 season kicks off against the Bengals on Sept. 7.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shedeur Sanders Explains Why He Was Upset Over Getting Pulled Late in Preseason Game.
