Shedeur Sanders’s preseason wrapped with a line that looks clean on paper but messy on film. 17 of 29 passing, 152 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions. Those numbers don’t scream disaster, but they don’t scream savior either. They just sit there, incomplete, like a player waiting for a fair evaluation. The problem is, Cleveland never really gave him one. Kevin Stefanski insists there’s no sabotage. Fans think otherwise.

The coach said it, repeated it, wrapped it in the coach-speak safety net, “I’m committed to his development, just like all of our rookies.” That was his self-defense. But peel back the layers of Saturday’s finale against the Rams, and the picture doesn’t square with the words. Joe Flacco got the first-team reps. Dillon Gabriel got the first unit too, then some work with the twos. When it was Shedeur Sanders’s turn, he was thrown behind a patchwork line with weapons that won’t sniff the 53. Five sacks later, he walked off the field with a stat line that felt more like an indictment than an evaluation. But fans didn’t stop posting videos accusing the coach of sabotaging the Colorado star.

KSapp put it bluntly on the August 25 episode of SimplyBallDroppin, “They gave Joe Flacco opportunity to play with the first team. Then they gave Dillon Gabriel opportunity to play with the first unit along with the second unit. But when it was time for Shedeur Sanders to come in the game, they gave Shedeur Sanders all the scraps. Guys that are not even going to make the 53-man roster. They took all the weapons away from him.” And here’s where Stefanski’s defense collapses.

If you’re genuinely committed to a quarterback’s development, you don’t send him out with receivers who’ll be unemployed by Tuesday and linemen overmatched from the snap. You give him something resembling the conditions you afforded his competition. Instead, the Browns let Gabriel shine with legitimate targets and let Sanders drown in noise.

Was it sabotage? Stefanski bristled at the accusation. Skip Bayless called it obvious. The truth is probably murkier, but it’s also simpler. The Browns have already made their choice. Gabriel is their project. Sanders is the outlier, the rookie with a last name too big to hide, and a spotlight the team doesn’t seem eager to share.

Is Cleveland leveraging Shedeur Sanders for dollars?

Shedeur Sanders hasn’t played a regular-season snap, but he’s already one of the NFL’s most bankable rookies. Reports estimate his No. 12 jersey has generated nearly $250 million in sales, funneling Sanders a commission north of $14 million, the highest rookie haul since his father, Deion, first lit up stores in the ‘90s. In Cleveland, where half the stadium seems to be wearing his name, Sanders is a business before he’s even been allowed to be a quarterback.

That’s the fuel behind new accusations that the Browns are exploiting Sanders’s popularity while minimizing his on-field opportunities. Ksapp added, “This is about the misuse and the mistreatment that they’re doing to Shedeur Sanders. Shedeur Sanders is the NFL quarterback and he just wants to play football. And for them to try to make an example out of him and use his jersey as jersey sales and then mistreat him as an NFL football player, that’s why people are coming to the forefront making these videos.”

The frustration isn’t new. Training camp opened with Sanders getting limited reps, rarely touching the first team. When his moment came against the Panthers, he was sharp, 138 yards passing, two touchdowns, and 19 rushing yards. But instead of riding that momentum, the Browns buried him again.

Meanwhile, the team keeps cashing in on Sanders’ star power. His jersey currently ranks No. 14 league-wide on NFL Shop, outpacing higher draft picks like Cam Ward and Travis Hunter. Fans joke that Cleveland’s home games look like Sanders Nation takeovers, but critics see something more cynical. A franchise happy to profit from Sanders’ name while slow-playing his career.

The Browns deny it. Kevin Stefanski insists Sanders is being developed like all rookies. But with Flacco pushing 40 and Gabriel clearly being groomed, the optics don’t match the coach-speak. Sanders may be Cleveland’s biggest draw, yet on the field, he’s being treated like an afterthought.