Browns Called Out Over Shedeur Sanders Stance

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam delivered some head-turning comments on the team selecting polarizing rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the draft this week.

Some have theorized that Haslam was the one who made the call to select Sanders — who was projected to be an early first-round pick — in the fifth round, ending his draft slide. Haslam distanced himself from that idea while speaking to the media for the first time since the draft on Thursday.

“Listen. We have good process,” Haslam said. “If you’d have told me Friday night driving home, y’all are going to pick Shedeur, I would have said, ‘That’s not happening.’ But, 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.”

Browns Called Out Over Quarterback Instability

Haslam’s comments on Sanders created a stir. Justin Tinsley of Andscape said the problem is less about Sanders — who he acknowledged has parts of his game to work on — and more about the Browns’ inability to develop quarterbacks.

“Here’s the uncomfortable truth Haslam didn’t address because it’s the worst-kept secret in football: The Cleveland Browns — once dubbed a ‘factory of sadness’ by their own fans — are far more untrustworthy as an organization that can develop quarterbacks than Shedeur Sanders is as a quarterback who needs developing,” Tinsley said.

The Browns have cycled through 40 different quarterbacks since 1999. They have failed to find anything resembling a franchise quarterback in that bunch.

“This is where the Dawg Pound stands on the eve of the Browns’ 2025 season: Sanders is a quarterback with much to prove, but the Browns are a franchise that has repeatedly proven itself, at best, unlucky and, at worst, systemically incapable of advancing young men at the position,” Tinsley said.

Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Handling Challenges Well

Sanders is part of the four-man battle for the starting quarterback job. He’s a long shot to land it, but has made a good impression on those in the building, including Haslam.

“I know everyone has a vision of Shedeur, but he’s come in the building, worked hard, kept his head down and done what he’s supposed to do,” Haslam said.

Sanders has a spotlight on him due to his high profile. But he’s handled his situation with grace, saying all the right things. He even shut down his famous father, Deion Sanders, from visiting the Browns’ training camp.

“He was like, ‘Dad, I may get three, four reps in practice. I don’t want you seeing that. No, I’m not where I want to be. Let me get where I want to be. …’ He ain’t mad. He ain’t bitter,” Deion Sanders said in an interview with Michael Irvin. “He’s like, ‘I got work to do, but I’m going to put in this work. One thing, they’re going to have to let me play. … When preseason comes, watch me work.’”

Sanders’ first taste of preseason action will come on Aug. 8 against the Carolina Panthers.