The Cleveland Browns need to wrap up the contrived quarterback competition in 2025. This team is in the perfect position to throw a young player out onto the field and let him play with house money, but they are instead toying with the idea of 40-year-old Joe Flacco to try and save face.
The organization gave contract extensions just last year to both head coach Kevin Stefanski as well as general manager Andrew Berry. The Browns believe in the brain trust they've assembled, and it's now time to put their trust in a young quarterback once again.
Shedeur Sanders was just a 5th-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after being projected at times to go as high as the 1st overall pick. Sanders was blacklisted by the NFL for whatever reasons, and wasn't even the first QB the Browns selected in April's draft.
Even with that in mind, Sanders is the best quarterback on the Cleveland roster. He might not be the best if they played a game on Sunday, but he's the franchise's best shot at finding a long-term solution at the position. Enough with the fake competition.
Browns need to give Shedeur Sanders 1st-team reps, make him the starter
Joe Flacco is not going to be the future of this organization. Kenny Pickett is not going to be the future of this organization. Dillon Gabriel is not going to be the future of this organization. Shedeur Sanders might not be, either, but at least he's got a chance.
There's not really any good reason why Sanders fell as far as he did in the 2025 NFL Draft. Perhaps someday, other NFL teams will answer for it, but when you have a player who is accused of heinous crimes like Mike Green going in the 2nd round, it's a tough double standard to reconcile.
Whatever the circumstances that led to it, the Browns were always an interesting possible landing spot for Sanders. And they've put him behind a number of players in a four-way competition that has felt contrived from the start. The Browns aren't fooling anybody, they're simply wasting their own time.
This franchise needs to get Sanders working with the top offense quickly, and find out whether or not he can be the franchise's answer for the future.