Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Browns demote Shedeur Sanders in stunning twist: 'Why is he on the team?'

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated Sep 12, 2025 7:58 AM ET

Shedeur Sanders continues to be on the down elevator during his rookie season.

The Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Sanders is not even getting reps on the scout team for Cleveland at this point and is simply just “watching everyone,” Tony Rizzo of ESPN reported this week on his radio show. Fellow backup QB Bailey Zappe has been running the Browns’ scout team instead, Rizzo adds.

Rizzo also questioned why Sanders was still on the Browns if his role on the team was simply that of a spectator. You can see the full clip of Rizzo’s remarks here.

"I'm hearing Shedeur isn't even running scout team, he's literally watching everyone… why is he on the team, why is he here?," – @TheRealTRizzo on what he's hearing about Shedeur Sanders. pic.twitter.com/Mtx6bs0rZL
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) September 11, 2025

Shedeur Sanders had an impressive preseason

Sanders produced some moments of real brilliance for the Browns this past preseason but was still named as the team’s third-string quarterback to start the season behind veteran Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. Now it appears that Sanders has even been unofficially surpassed by Zappe, who just signed with Cleveland’s practice squad a couple of weeks ago.

A scout team is a combination of both practice squad players and lesser-used 53-man roster players that plays the role of emulating the opposing team during the week of practice. If the 23-year-old Sanders, who needs any reps that he can get at this point, is not even getting scout-team work over the 26-year-old Zappe, who is in his fourth NFL season, it is indeed fair to question what exactly the plan is for Sanders in Cleveland.

We heard earlier this week that Sanders, the former University of Colorado star, is currently ranking incredibly high in 2025 NFL jersey sales. But beyond that, Sanders’ professional journey appears to be rather aimless right now.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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