Shedeur Sanders Labeled ‘Loser’ Following Browns Minicamp

It seems not everyone following the Cleveland Browns QB Competition is familiar with the Browns and how that will shape the competition. The Browns are amidst a streak of losing and bad QB play for so long that there are adults walking among you who cannot remember the last time the Browns were generally viewed as even just “a good team” for more than two years. A franchise that once won seven championships in 10 years including five in a row, cannot seem to figure out the QB position. It is a critical decision in 2025, but one that must run its full course.

However, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport labeled Shedeur Sanders as one of the “losers” of the offseason workouts. Not a flattering title, especially in June with a ton of football left on the books.

“Sanders needs a hug—because it has been a rough year so far for the rookie,” Davenport said. “Considered by many a first-round prospect, Sanders’ free fall to the fifth round was the dominant storyline of the 2025 NFL draft. He was the second quarterback taken by a Browns team desperate for a solution at the position, after Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel.

“That drop on draft day hasn’t alleviated the spotlight on Sanders, and one of the bigger stories of Browns’ OTAs was that while Sanders and Gabriel received most of the quarterback reps as the team attempts to see what they have in the youngsters, it was the latter who worked mostly with the starters.”

While talking to the media, Sanders downplayed his lack of first-team reps.

"Life is just based on how you view different things. So, you can view things as you're not getting reps in a negative way or you can view it as, OK, when it's my time to get out there, let's be proactive and let's get warm, let's get going. So, there's no excuses because when you get out there, nobody cares how many reps you got whenever you get in the game. Nobody cares if you took a snap before. Everybody cares about production. So that's the main thing when you get out there: You got to be able to produce."

Not that long ago, many assumed it was just a matter of time before Sanders was a star in the NFL. Now, he faces a summer certain to be filled with even more scrutiny.

And a legitimate battle to even make the 53-man roster.”

The Order of Operations

Fans should completely discard the Order of Operations narrative that even the Cleveland media is perpetuating. In chronological order, Kenny Pickett was traded for first. Second, they signed Joe Flacco. Then Gabriel was drafted in the third round, before Shedeur was drafted in the fifth round. Suggesting that the order of priority is Flacco-Pickett-Gabriel-Sanders, in that order. A rather outdated logic for reporters to still adhere to in modern football. If that was the order of priority, then reports of Pickett and Flacco being the frontrunners would make sense. However, this competition will come down to operating the offense efficiently and who gives the team the best chance to win. With two first round picks in 2026, it’s a decision they must get right.

Trust the Process

The Philadelphia 76ers ensured the sports worlds would dislike the term, “trust the process”, but in this case it is the ideal approach. Joe Flacco is unlikely to play 17 games at this stage of his career. Sanders will get an opportunity to start this season and play significant games for the Cleveland Browns. The question is, how soon? Sanders needs to make sure he’s got the operational stuff down first. Once that happens, this becomes a very different QB competition. Sanders has done everything right.

From arriving in Cleveland ten days early, working in the community, saying all the right things to the media, winning over the locker room, to how he has performed on the practice field. Comments from people inside the Browns organization have been consistently positive. Including Stefanski going on record to say, “I love everything about Shedeur” to mic’d up video of OC Tommy Rees enjoying what he’s seeing from Shedeur. The sky is not falling. Sanders is not being treated unfairly. No one reading this can remember an NFL offseason where the rookie QB taken after the top 50 picks was announced the starter by the early part of June. It doesn’t happen. Sanders cannot change that, but he can win the job. After the process has completed.

There is literally nothing to worry about

No one that is a fan of Colorado Buffaloes football and/or Deion Sanders and his family, is content with the biggest draft slide in NFL history. The Draft details are over and as Coach Stefanski said on Shedeur’s draft position, “no one cares, the players don’t care, the coaches don’t care”. The Browns have a critically important decision to make at QB and Sanders is very much in that conversation. 

The question is not whether Sanders will start for the Cleveland Browns. It is can Sanders perform at a level when he is the starter that makes Andrew Berry regret trading away the opportunity to take Travis Hunter to acquire assets to draft their franchise QB in 2026?