Owner Haslam distances himself from Shedeur pick — fans speculate GM vs owner power play

The Cleveland Browns have been searching for a long-term quarterback for nearly the entirety of the Jimmy Haslam era. Since he became the owner in 2012, Cleveland has whiffed on countless draft prospects and spent extensive draft capital to acquire Deshaun Watson, a trade that Haslam later admitted he regrets.

The team made another peculiar decision this offseason, opting to draft two quarterbacks just a round apart. Despite speculation that Haslam stepped in to draft Shedeur Sanders a day after the front office selected Dillon Gabriel, the Browns' owner affirmed that general manager Andrew Berry made both picks in a press conference on Tuesday.

"If you'd have told me Friday night driving home, 'y'all are going to pick Shedeur,' I would say 'that's not happening,'" Haslam said. "We had a conversation early that morning and we had a conversation later that day. I think we had the right people involved in the conversation. At the end of the day, that's Andrew Berry's call. Andrew made the call to pick Shedeur, just like who going to start or what play we're going to call is Kevin's call."

While Haslam didn't specifically say that he was opposed to the Browns' selection of Sanders, the owner's quote could be interpreted as implying it. Haslam repeatedly stated that it was Berry's choice to draft Sanders in the fourth round, as if he was trying to absolve himself of blame if Cleveland's two-rookie situation goes awry. However, Haslam's emphasis on the separation of powers between himself, Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski likely just means he is committed to letting the two do their jobs.

Sanders, Gabriel, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are all battling for the Browns' starting quarterback job as Cleveland's training camp is officially underway.