The Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns joined up for a practice at the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, Ohio, on Thursday. And it got a little spicy with one of the players who didn’t even practice.
Bills safety C. J. Gardner-Johnson wasn’t practicing, but he did make sure to have comments for Browns second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Former Associated Press writer Tom Withers was at practice and wrote on X that Gardner-Johnson called Sanders a “Check-down King.”
“Bills S C.J. Gardner-Johnson not practicing but talking all kinds of smack,” Withers wrote. “Earlier he was yelling “Check-down King” in the direction of Sanders on the sideline.”
Sanders is Competing With Deshaun Watson
Many NFL players are eager to target Sanders whenever they can. Sanders is the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, who played 14 years as a cornerback in the NFL and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is also the head football coach at Colorado, where Shedeur started for two seasons.
Sanders is in the middle of a quarterback competition with Deshaun Watson. Watson started the first preseason game against the Chicago Bears on Saturday. Sanders is expected to start against the Bills in Brown’s second preseason game this Saturday.
While Browns head coach Todd Monken has yet to name his Week 1 starter, it seems that Deshaun Watson has the upper hand in the competition. Typically, when a quarterback starts the first preseason game, it indicates they are on track to be the starter. Watson played well in the half he was on the field, completing 11 of 15 passes for 126 yards and leading the Browns to 10 points, the team’s only score of the afternoon.
On the other hand, Sanders did not have the best outing, going 6 for 11 for 79 yards and throwing an interception.
The Browns still have almost three weeks until they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium in Week 1, but Sanders is going to have a lot of catching up to do if he wants to win the job.
Both the Bills and Browns Made Head Coaching Changes
The Bills and Browns have taken two very different paths over the last two seasons. Cleveland missed the playoffs both years and has been one of the NFL’s worst organizations. In contrast, Buffalo has reached the AFC Championship Game and the divisional round. However, both the Browns and Bills made head coaching changes this offseason.
Cleveland moved on from Kevin Stefanski because winning eight games in two seasons was unacceptable. Meanwhile, Buffalo parted ways with head coach Sean McDermott because he couldn’t lead the Bills to the Super Bowl.
Now, both the Browns and Bills have first-year head coaches: Monken in Cleveland and Joe Brady in Buffalo. It was good that two first-year head coaches got a chance to have their teams face each other in joint practices.
While the Bills are ready to win now, the Browns are still trying to figure out which players they want to build around for the future. Cleveland getting a chance to see its players against a Super Bowl-ready team is likely a good opportunity for Monken and general manager Andrew Berry.
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