The weight of not delivering enough became evident on Shedeur Sanders’ face when he had his worst preseason game in Cleveland. While playing against the Rams in the preseason finale, the rookie quarterback completed just 3 of 6 passes for 14 yards. As a result, HC Kevin Stefanski proceeded to bench him for QB Tyler Huntley. Cameras further showed Shedeur sitting with a towel over his head, as if he wanted to hide from the disappointment. Then, despite the Browns wrapping up the game with a 19-17 win, critics were quick to pounce on Sanders’s mistakes. With roster cuts looming, that last performance made his future role in Cleveland uncertain. 

The fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft now finds himself in a developmental role in Cleveland alongside fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. The starting QB job is already in the hands of veteran Joe Flacco, but the battle for QB2 has been alive all summer, with Sanders, Gabriel, and Kenny Pickett in the mix. Deshaun Watson, still recovering from an Achilles injury, is practically a forgotten man in Cleveland’s quarterback room. When Stefanski cut ties with both Pickett and Huntley, the competition narrowed down to just Sanders and Gabriel. That’s where ESPN’s Ryan Clark just stepped in with his harsh take. 

On First Take, Ryan Clark said, “I don’t think Shedeur Sanders ever starts a game for the Cleveland Browns.” That’s a bold statement, isn’t it? Clark further explained that unless injuries force a change, Kevin Stefanski won’t give the rookie QB a start this year. More importantly, Clark added, “I don’t believe they view him as a franchise builder – a franchise starter.” It was a blunt assessment, but Clark wasn’t rooting against Shedeur Sanders. In fact, he admitted he wanted to see the rookie shine.

“And I would admit something on TV that you probably shouldn’t – I’m rooting for Sanders. I wanted to turn the film on and be able to come on First Take, be on Get Up, and be on NFL LIVE, and pound the table that he has been done wrong. Pound the table that he deserves to be the week one starter, he deserves to be the two on the depth chart,” Ryan Clark also said on the show. But then came the twist: Clark said Shedeur Sanders’ preseason performance changed his view. “But, if you watch the film, if you compare it to what we did see from Dillon Gabriel, that’s just not the case,” Clark finally said. So, let’s take a look at the preseason numbers recorded by both the rookies to get an idea of their overall performance.

Looking at these numbers, Dillion Gabriel clearly outperformed him. Even former QB Dan Orlovsky chimed in with the same opinion. “Gabriel’s tape has been fantastic, and everyone points to those two bad plays, which was the pick-six and the fumble from that previous week… The pick-six miscommunication, the fumble’s on the quarterback. Dillon Gabriel’s tape has clearly been better than Shedeur’s,” Orlovsky said. So here’s the big question: will Cleveland still find a way to keep Shedeur Sanders? The answer to that question might come sooner than expected, as Stefanski just cut ties with a quarterback. 

Kevin Stefanski trims the QB depth in Cleveland with the Kenny Pickett trade

Kenny Pickett spent this offseason with the Browns fighting a QB1 battle that he eventually lost to Joe Flacco. He had been out with a hamstring injury at camp since July. As such, he saw no action in the preseason for the Browns, and that just sealed his fate. According to the latest reports, Las Vegas just sent a 2026 fifth-round pick to Cleveland in exchange for Pickett. This move from Stefanski somewhat confirmed the QB depth in Cleveland. Meanwhile, Pickett will land on a new team yet again this year.  

NFL insider Adam Schefter recently reported on X, “Kenny Pickett has now been traded from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, from Philadelphia to Cleveland, and from Cleveland to Las Vegas.” As Schefter pointed out, this is already the third trade for Pickett in two offseasons. Think about that. The quarterback was once a first-round draft pick of the Steelers. But then he was traded along with a fourth-round pick to the Eagles. Pickett then spent 2024 being a backup for Jalen Hurts, even appearing in Philly’s Super Bowl win. But this offseason, the Eagles traded him to Cleveland. 

Then, despite having a veteran resume with 4,765 yards and 15 TDs, Pickett failed to stay healthy in Cleveland. So, Kevin Stefanski shipped him to Las Vegas. But the Raiders HC, Pete Carroll, only made the trade out of necessity. Backup QB Aidan O’Connell just fractured his wrist in a preseason game. As a result, he will miss 6 to 8 weeks. That forced the team to look for QB Geno Smith’s new backup. So, Kenny Pickett will now step in to provide much-needed stability for the Raiders before they start their regular season.