The Cleveland Browns plan at quarterback this offseason was flawed at best. Perhaps that alone is the biggest sign that GM Andrew Berry and HC Kevin Stefanski got approval to punt on this season and are
safe heading into the 2026 NFL season.
Let’s see if we got this right, at the most important position in all of football, the Browns needed:
- Kenny Pickett to have a season he’s never had, or
- Joe Flacco to catch lightning in a bottle again, after being bad for a few years outside of six games in Cleveland, or
- Dillon Gabriel to be an outlier, as a rookie, given his height and arm strength, or
- Shedeur Sanders to become the first fifth-round pick to excel as a starting QB as a rookie, or
- Tyler Huntley, the last of the five brought in, overcoming the other four despite minimal success in the NFL
So far, none of that has happened and only two of those quarterbacks, the rookies, are still left on the roster.
As conspiracy rumors have flown, it should come as no surprise, based on the order in which they were acquired, that Stefanski had no plans for Sanders to see the field this season, according to a report:
Shortly after the draft, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski began informing members of the organization that this would be a “redshirt” year of sorts for Sanders. He wasn’t expected to play at all this year unless things got ugly. The Browns wanted him to sit and learn.
Some Cleveland fans would note that “things got ugly” pretty quickly at quarterback, but the team still plans to start Gabriel when he is healthy. How devoted was the Browns head coach to keeping Sanders in “watch and learn mode”? Very, it seems:
Still, Stefanski was trying to keep to the idea of not playing Sanders this year. In the days after the Flacco trade, he began telling members of the organization that Bailey Zappe — not Sanders — would be promoted off the practice squad to be the backup quarterback.
The seal has now been broken with Sanders and it is generally unlikely that a player in concussion protocol is cleared to play a week later. That means Stefanski and the Cleveland organization will either have to prepare Sanders as the starter (the head coach says he’s ready) or promote Bailey Zappe as the starter for Week 12 versus the Las Vegas Raiders.
Given how Stefanski has talked about Sanders and the plan to start Gabriel when he’s healthy, along with this report, nothing would be surprising with the Browns quarterback situation this season.
How do you feel about this report on the plan with Sanders this season? Do you think it is a positive thing to focus on his development, a conspiracy against him, or something else?
Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below
