The Browns and the Ravens both came out of Week 1 with a loss. And now they will square off in Week 2. But in Berea, the biggest storyline isn’t just about the matchup. It’s still about Shedeur Sanders. On Wednesday, NFL vet Tyvis Powell pointed out that the Colorado product is splitting scout-team reps with Bailey Zappe. Nothing shocking there. Shedeur’s technically the emergency QB, so he gets the limited snaps.

But here’s where things get messy. Longtime Cleveland voice Tony Rizzo went off on the team, frustrated that they’re basically shelving Shedeur’s potential. His gripe? The 23-year-old rookie isn’t even consistently running scout-team play anymore. Rizzo now has just one question: Why is Shedeur still there? “I’m hearing Shedeur isn’t even running scout team, he’s literally watching everyone,” Rizzo ranted.

“…Why is he on the team? Why is he even here if that’s what you think about, because his jersey is selling? They don’t need the Haslams don’t need jersey money. Do they? No, they don’t. Then why is he on the team if he’s not even, if he’s not even running scout team?” Recently, the NFLPA released the latest jersey sales data, and without any shock, Shedeur has the fifth-highest-selling jersey in the NFL.

Turns out, No. 12 is making plenty of noise off the field, but once you zoom in on the actual football side? That’s where it gets murky. “I’d love to ask him,” Rizzo added. “I’ve now, now today is Stefanski’s day to cop out, which I love it… Somebody better ask Tommy Rees whether Shedeur’s running scout team or not. Because I heard, he’s not.” Right now, word around Berea is, the rookie’s not running routes with the scout team. He’s been left tossing passes to the equipment staff.

“Shedeur Sanders apparently is throwing not to receivers but to equipment guys,” ESPN’s Aaron Goldhammer reported. So when Rizzo questioned why Shedeur was even hanging around, it wasn’t out of the blue. He’s been banging the drum for Sanders long before the Browns grabbed him in the fifth round. Sure, plenty of folks see Shedeur as just a developmental project, but Rizzo?  He’s gone as far as urging Deion Sanders to push for a trade to get Shedeur out of Cleveland.

“Is the kid processing? Is he improving? Is he being developed by the Cleveland Browns?” He said. “If it were me, if I was Deion or I had some sort of influence I’d tell them ‘Trade me. Let me go somewhere where I have a chance to play.”  Long story short: the Ravens are gearing up to celebrate their 30th anniversary in Sunday’s home opener against the Browns. But for Shedeur Sanders?. There’s not much to celebrate. At least not yet.

Kevin Stefanski and the Browns head to a historic Week 2 matchup

No question about it; the Week 2 matchup between the Browns and the Ravens will be historic. And no, not just because both teams are limping in after opening-week losses. The real storyline, though? Baltimore is marking its 30th anniversary during its home opener against Cleveland. And that’s exactly what has Browns fans fuming. The reason, however, is pretty obvious.

Three decades ago, Cleveland fans lived through the horrible experience of their beloved team leaving Cleveland when Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore. Fast forward to now, the Ravens will celebrate their 30th anniversary against the Browns. Talk about a full circle moment. To put it in context: the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999.

Meanwhile, the Ravens won their first Super Bowl in the 2000 season, the very next year after the Browns’ return. To make it even spicier, the Ravens won their second Super Bowl in the 2012 season, with Joe Flacco, who’s now the Browns’ starting quarterback, and will lead Cleveland’s offense in Week 2 against Baltimore. Though the celebration sparked outrage in Cleveland, a Ravens spokesman told cleveland.com that plans to celebrate the 30th anniversary were announced even before the league announced the 2025 season’s schedule.

“Planning for our 30th season began last year, with the home opener as the official kickoff of our anniversary celebration,” the spokesperson said. “The plans to celebrate the 30th season were publicly released in March prior to the announcement of the league schedule and before we knew who our home opening opponent would be.” That said, Flacco’s heading back to Baltimore to face the team he once won a Super Bowl with. And Shedeur Sanders? As Tony Rizzo put it, he’s just watching.