The Browns and Shedeur Sanders won the Week 17 matchup against the Steelers in more than one way. Despite losing 6-13, the Steelers shared a heartfelt moment with rookie Sanders.

After the game, Steelers quarterback and NFL veteran Aaron Rodgers walked up to Sanders, shared a hug, and congratulated him on the victory. 

In a clip shared by Dion Sanders Jr. on X, Rodgers was heard saying, “Good job, man. Proud of you. Happy for you, man,” to the 23-year-old. 

Mike Tomlin, the Steelers’ head coach, also met him and asked Sanders to “Stay up!”

These words of encouragement come to Sanders in his first season with some hits and many misses. Rodgers has lent his support to the Browns’ rookie while many have doubted his potential and claimed he shouldn’t retain his opening quarterback position for the next season. 

But Why?

In a media session before Sunday’s game, Rodgers opened up about his impression of Sanders. The four-time MVP is rooting for Sanders because of the hitches he’s experiencing so early on in his career- similar to those of Rodgers.

“I’ve followed Shedeur’s career,” Rodgers said on Friday. “I was pulling for him. It was tough draft slide. Obviously, much longer wait than mine was.” 

Sanders was selected by the Browns in the fifth round, contrary to the impression of him being a first-round draft pick. Moreover, he was overshadowed by Dillon Gabriel and wasn’t an active player for 11 weeks. 

Similarly, Rodgers, who was one of the best prospects in 2005, became the 24th overall pick drafted by the Green Bay Packers. He was benched for two years while Brett Favre played on the field.

Rodgers praised Sanders for his composure and the progress he made.

“But it seems like he’s been patient and worked on his craft, and he’s been playing pretty good the last few weeks.”

But Sanders seems to know where he stands

In a press conference before the matchup against the Bills, Sanders acknowledged his poor pass completion rate and stated his working on it. 

“I just got to get more completions,” Sanders said in a Wednesday media session. “Just work within the game and just keep driving the ball, get first downs.”

With that, Sanders has improved his completion rate and, with it, upped the team’s as well. His career best 73.9 percent came against the Steelers.

Amidst criticism and uncertainty surrounding the Browns, Sanders is backed by one of the quarterbacks in the league. When asked about that interaction with Rodgers, Sanders said, “It's nice.” 

“But we got a lot of old people in our locker room, so it be surreal all the time,” he laughed.

What are your predictions about Sanders?

Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Joyita Das