The drills ran like clockwork under a cloudless June sky as coaches yelled, quarterbacks cycled through their reps, and cameras rolled. On the surface, Browns’ minicamp looked like an open competition, but the order told a different story. Joe Flacco led. Kenny Pickett followed, and then it was Dillon Gabriel’s turn. Shedeur Sanders, however, never got a chance with the starters… And that raised real questions about where he fits in Cleveland’s plans.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski said nothing has been decided yet. His words, “There’s definitely a point in July and August where our mentality will shift,” offered the same uncertainty that has prevailed among fans for a long time. While every Browns’ fan might be dutifully checking for any movement on the depth chart, the objective reality might not be known outside meeting rooms in Berea, OH, until perhaps mid-July. And so, one thing fans should get used to is the team’s almost ‘Belichickian’ way of not giving out more information than they need to about their QB1 situation. However, if we look at the minicamp practices to come to some conclusion, Spencer German, host of Locked On Browns, might have some interesting titbits.

German joined the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show to share his observations, but let us warn you: Take his report with a pinch of salt, as the franchise itself has not introduced or eliminated any particular name from its QB1 competition. He stated: “I just think right now, they view him as somebody…like I think he has things he’s working on. And I think they view him as the guy who is the 4th man on this depth chart… I know that people don’t like reading into where they took these guys, and I know every time I bring up that sh-t or Sanders was a 5th round pick, I get ridiculed in the YouTube comments of Locked On Browns because people are mad that keeps being part of the conversation.

“But the fact of the matter is, he is a 5th round pick. He was the 2nd quarterback taken by this team and based off if Kevin Stefanski and what he said about Dillon Gabriel, the day after he was drafted, based on what we know about this team’s evaluation of him and the pre-draft process and sort of secret meeting they had with him before the Colorado pro day, they really like Dillon Gabriel.” 

Football enthusiasts assumed both rookies would compete for developmental snaps behind seasoned alternatives. But minicamp optics paint a different picture. With Joe Flacco at the top, Kenny Pickett and Gabriel sharing developmental repetitions, and Sanders as the odd man out, Stefanski and the Browns coaching staff have a rough quarterback hierarchy in place.

German added, “Thursday ended up being more about getting Joe Flacco look and actually giving him a chance to sort of throw with these guys before they broke for summer…I think they sort of showcased – their hand maybe more yesterday in terms of how they feel about these guys where Flacco was first up, Pickett was next up, then Gabriel, then Shedeur. And that is how I sort of leave camp feeling like they at least view the depth chart of this team.” And this is all despite Sanders showing several strong glimpses during OTAs, including a nearly flawless 7-of-9 performance with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

When you compare Shedeur Sanders’ reps to his actual performance, the reality becomes even more startling. During Day 2 of OTAs, he was outstanding. He duplicated the feat of three touchdown passes in limited action during a subsequent practice. There’s talent. But opportunity? Nowhere to be found. So, Sanders may be ready to climb, but he’s not being handed the ladder. Other analysts share the same sentiment.

Jeremy Fowler pushes Stefanski to end QB shuffle

Cleveland’s coaching staff is currently facing a quarterback stalemate that cannot be allowed to continue unchecked, according to NFL source Jeremy Fowler. Stefanski’s OTA and minicamp strategy was straightforward: Give everyone a shot, and let the rotation breathe. But Fowler claims that the phase is over.“They all really answered the bell, including Sanders,” highlighting the rookie’s assertiveness and readiness to test tight windows. “So they like where he sits.”

The fifth-rounder may not be Stefanski’s first choice, but he has refused to be ignored. Sanders, according to Fowler, “threw with aggressiveness” and was commended for putting the ball in tight spots, which are throws that demonstrate fearlessness. That assessment is significant because it shows that the rookie is making the staff take notes, even with limited reps. And that’s where Fowler draws the line.

He thinks the Browns must now create a solid depth chart and abandon the floating experiment. No more ambiguous rotations. Fowler underlined that, “Stefanski has to formulate a plan in training camp that’s probably a little more crystallized, maybe has a little bit of a depth chart to it. They are not there yet, but Sanders has made an impression, no doubt.” In other words, the longer Stefanski waits, the messier it gets. The Browns started this summer with flexibility, but it seems Stefanski will need to provide more clarity soon. What do you think?