Shedeur Sanders to play in Browns preseason finale; says he doesn't care where he sits in QB pecking order

Shedeur Sanders will get another chance to play in the preseason. Sanders, who missed the Browns' second preseason game after suffering an oblique injury, will be on the field when the Browns host the Rams in Saturday's preseason finale. 

Joe Flacco, who was recently tabbed as Cleveland's starting quarterback, will start the Saturday's game. Rookie Dillon Gabriel will get a chance to play next, followed by Sanders, who returned to practice on Wednesday after sitting out Tuesday. Fellow quarterback Kenny Pickett won't play on Saturday as he is still working through a hamstring injury that was initially sustained in late July. 

"I'm playing for fun, playing for happiness," Sanders said on Thursday when he was asked if there was anything that he needed to prove during Saturday's game. "I'm playing for fans, the family, for everybody, for this organization that drafted me. So it's a lot that I'm playing for." 

Sanders had a telling answer when he was asked about the "No. 2" role behind Flacco and whether that was still up for grabs. 

"Honestly, bro, I really don't look into that," Sanders said. "I don't care. Whenever it's time for me to get out there and play, I'm gonna play. Whenever it's time for the lights to come on, I'm gonna do my thing. I'm not concerned about when it is." 

Sanders played well in his first preseason game, a 30-10 win over the Panthers. Sanders, who played the majority of the game's first three quarters before he was replaced by veteran Tyler Huntley, went 14 of 23 for 138 yards with a pair of touchdowns. 

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Like all rookies, Sanders has some room to grow as he continues to acclimate himself to the next level. His accuracy, however, has continued to impress onlookers during his first NFL training camp. And while his accuracy so far has surprised some, that isn't the case with Sanders. 

"I think my abilities are my abilities," he said. "When God decides to take it away from me, that's the decision. But I think, versus anybody, I always pick me. So at this point, it's in due time. Whenever it's my time." 

Sanders said that he is looking forward to playing in front of Cleveland's home fans for the first time on Saturday night. He said that he is hoping to do something special for some of the team's younger fans. 

"I wanted to find a way to get a lot of the high schoolers free tickets," he said. "A lot of the kids, middle schoolers, everybody, free tickets to come to the game. I don't know how I'm gonna do that. I didn't talk to anybody about this, but, like, I've just always had, like, instant thoughts, and I'm like, dang, that'd be cool if you could do it."