Insider addresses silly narrative about Browns' handling of Shedeur Sanders

The Cleveland Browns have made it clear since springtime workouts that Shedeur Sanders is their fourth-choice option at quarterback. 

That has led to some outsiders accusing the team of "sabotaging" the fifth-round draft pick's chances of winning the starting job. 

For an article published on Thursday morning, Browns insider Jason Lloyd of The Athletic addressed the Sanders-related narrative that has hovered over the team throughout training camp. 

"There is no conspiracy theory against Shedeur Sanders," Lloyd wrote. "The Cleveland Browns are not out to ruin his career or set him up to fail. The Browns are simply treating him like a fifth-round rookie and the fourth quarterback on their depth chart. Nothing more, nothing less." 

2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel has been above Sanders on the depth chart since the voluntary portion of the offseason program, even though many NFL analysts viewed Gabriel as a third-day selection back in April. While fans saw Sanders as a first-round talent this past spring, reports later emerged claiming that his alleged handling of the predraft process rubbed some teams the wrong way.

Sanders will serve as the Browns starting quarterback for their preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers this coming Friday night only because Gabriel and presumed backup Kenny Pickett were recently slowed by hamstring injuries. Regardless of how Sanders plays at Carolina's Bank of America Stadium, it seems he has no chance of challenging veteran Joe Flacco for the QB1 gig this month. 

"The idea that the Browns are somehow sabotaging Sanders is absurd," Lloyd continued. "...But the Browns also very clearly told you they didn’t believe Sanders was worthy of being a franchise quarterback when they passed on him with the second pick in the draft. And then the fifth pick. And then twice more in the second round, twice in the third and once in the fourth before finally coming back up in the fifth to take him. If the Browns thought he was ready to lead a franchise, they would’ve drafted him in the first round."

 

In late July, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam made it known he "absolutely" would like to see both rookie signal-callers take snaps in meaningful games if Cleveland has a losing record in the second half of the upcoming season. 

That said, FanDuel Sportsbook continued to list Flacco as a -265 betting favorite to start the Browns' Week 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7, as of Thursday morning. To compare, Sanders was at +2500 odds. 

Such information seemingly shows that Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski won't be in a rush to play Sanders this fall, regardless of what fans and national media members have to say about the situation.