Shedeur Sanders’ slide from a possible first-round pick to a fifth-round pick was one of the biggest draft stories in 2025. Because of this, many fans are going as far as suggesting that the former Colorado quarterback was getting mistreated in his new team, the Cleveland Browns, which already had three solid contenders to be the starting quarterback this year.
During the “The Land On Demand” show with ESPN Cleveland, Browns analyst Tony Grossi gave his honest take on this alleged “mistreatment” of Shedeur Sanders, and he admitted that he does not understand why some fans think that this is happening when Sanders has all the opportunity to prove himself with the Browns.
“I don’t understand it at all,” – @TonyGrossi on the narrative that the Browns are mistreating Shedeur Sanders in this QB competition.
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/Xo62lTPaII
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) August 1, 2025
“I shake my head, I don’t understand it at all,” Grossi said. “They complicated their own situation by drafting him. When they did, after their evaluation that Dillon Gabriel was better and were taking him in the third round, they had enough quarterbacks right there to conduct a competition.”
“And then they drafted Shedeur in the fifth round. Why? Well the owner and the GM said… ‘because value.’ He was worth more than a fifth round pick. So I don’t know why the Browns are like, the bad guys in what’s going on here, that they mistreated him. They treated him better than 31 other teams,” he added.
Several notable personalities, such as Shannon Sharpe, have called out the Browns over the alleged “mistreatment” that Shedeur Sanders has been getting. Despite this, the former Buffaloes quarterback has been impressing at the Browns training camp in Akron, though he may not get the QB1 spot at the start of the season, at the very least.
Cleveland Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam Says Drafting Shedeur Sanders Was GM’s Decision
While many point to Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and his reported fascination with quarterbacks, he is now saying that it was not his decision to draft Shedeur Sanders when they already have a stacked roster of quarterbacks for 2025.
Instead, the influential Browns owner stated that he did not force general manager Andrew Berry to draft Sanders, who was sliding from his previous first-round draft projections, with his draft leading to one of the most unique quarterback situations in the NFL.
“Listen. We have good process,” he said. “If you’d have told me Friday night (Day 2) driving home, y’all are going to pick Shedeur, I would have said, ‘That’s not happening.’ But, we had a conversation early that morning and we had a conversation later that day. I think we had the right people involved in the conversation.”
Four quarterbacks are currently competing for that coveted spot, including veterans Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco, as well as rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
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