From Colorado trash-talk to Cleveland sideline arguments, one man has not stopped talking about the Cleveland Browns‘ quarterback, Shedeur Sanders. Browns & NFL analyst Tony Grossi has gone from being his most prominent critic to calling him “self-aware,” completely flipping the script amid rumors of head coach Kevin Stefanski’s firing.

In a conversation with ESPN Cleveland, Grossi discussed the rookie quarterback at length, admitting that Sanders is very critical of himself.

“He is very candid about his own play, about what he doesn’t like,” Grossi said. “He doesn’t overstate any positive thing, and he is very critical of himself and very self-aware, and I think that is a professional attitude to take… He is harder on himself than certainly you are, or his dad is, or any of his fans are. I think that’s why he will continue to get better.”

This comes after the Browns’ record fell to 3-11. Stefanski’s side recorded their third straight defeat against the Chicago Bears last week. The 43-year-old has been the head coach of the Browns since 2020, but he appears to be walking on thin ice now, especially after his previous season’s 3-14 record.

But what looked like the final straw was something else. No, it was not just Deshaun Watson’s trade. It was also the lack of playtime for Sanders. When you go back to the Browns’ 31-29 defeat against the Tennessee Titans, Sanders’ box score shows 23-of-42 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns. These numbers are hard to ignore, but Stefanski did it anyway.

When the Browns could force overtime, being down by two points, Stefanski pulled Sanders out, and the team missed the two-point conversion.

Against the Bears, Sanders did not have the play sheet from his wristband, and communication was haywire. As a result, the quarterback had to run to the sideline to get direct calls from the head coach. This resulted in the team being called for a delay-of-game penalty. However, both Sanders and Stefanski later confirmed their stance on the miscommunication.

“There was a miscommunication early. The wristband got something on it or whatever it was…we got that fixed pretty quickly.” Sanders backed that up, stating, “The card just fell out. It just fell out on the sideline. That was it.”

With Sanders being the center of criticism from the media, former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel also lashed out at the kind of treatment Shedeur Sanders faced from the press.

Johnny Manziel shares candid opinion on media’s criticism of Shedeur Sanders

Johnny Manziel, who played for the Browns in the 2014-15 season, spoke candidly about the criticism Sanders is receiving from the media. On his podcast, he stated that, based on his experience, asking sabotage questions will not help the rookie quarterback.

“The guy [Shedeur] is trying to revive this f—ing franchise,” Manziel said. “You can show him no love. It’s nuts. It’s the same people that have been there from when I was there, that when Brandon Weeden was there. It doesn’t matter. And they’re gonna continue. The whole thing is a problem; not just your head coach feels like he’s throwing games, but your media – they don’t f—ing believe you’re gonna be any good.”

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Many believe that the Browns’ final three games against the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cincinnati Bengals will be Stefanski’s final games as the head coach of the Browns. The team is out of the playoff race. But these games will show if the team can get into the same rhythm; otherwise, there will be a need for some changes.