After being long expected to draft Shedeur Sanders with the second-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns did, in fact, come away with the Colorado product, only the path they took to make the selection was anything but clear.
With Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett procured over the offseason, and Dashaun Watson still stuck on the roster thanks to his fully guaranteed $230 million contract, the Browns first drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round, before circling back to add Shedeur Sanders two rounds later one pick before the Philadelphia Eagles could have snagged him.
Complicated? You could say that, but a former Browns quarterback, Robert Griffin III, had his own word for it: dysfunction.
Breaking the situation down on social media, RGIII noted just how poorly the Browns handled their quarterback situation and how it could all come back to haunt them no matter how things shake out over the summer.
“The Cleveland Browns QB situation is a SET UP FOR DYSFUNCTION. They have $230 Million that won’t play. Brought in 4 QBs this offseason, and the last one they brought in, Shedeur Sanders, is the #1 selling jersey of all rookies despite being drafted in the 5th round after their 3rd round pick Dillon Gabriel. Joe Flacco is a Super Bowl Champion and Super Bowl MVP who will limit Kenny Pickett’s reps. Kenny Picket is a veteran going into his 4th year in the NFL, who will limit Dillon Gabriel’s reps. Dillon Gabriel was a 3rd round pick this year who will get reps before his fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders,” Griffin III wrote.
“Yet, Shedeur is the headliner of the group. He sells tickets. He sells Jerseys. He sells confidence to his teammates, who have said they can’t wait to play with him and non-teammates. Top-level players across the NFL are talking about how good of a player Shedeur Sanders is and how he was done dirty in the NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns’ headliner is their 4th QB on the roster, who will get the least amount of reps and opportunity in the group. That’s a set up for dysfunction. That’s the Browns.”
On one hand, the Browns could thin the herd a bit before the start of training camp, with Flacco a potential casualty and Pickett a trade candidate if some other team comes calling about his services.
With that being said, considering the Browns don’t already have a QB1 locked in and did land one of the few players in this year’s class who were expected to be franchise players, albeit much later than expected, those chats for Sanders to start will grow louder and louder with each passing week. Unless someone, be it Sanders or a teammate, really blows away the field to become an unquestioned starter, the Browns are going to be hit with that dysfunctional label all season long until proven otherwise.
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