Shedeur Sanders should have said yes to the Baltimore Ravens. The reasoning is simple: Lamar Jackson is reportedly out for at least 2-3 weeks with a hamstring injury. In a perfect world, joining Baltimore would’ve given Shedeur the chance to learn from a two-time MVP and potentially start in Week 5. Sure, he’d still have to beat out Cooper Rush, but at least it would’ve been a real shot.

But the Colorado product bet on the Cleveland Browns, thinking he had a better shot. But in the real world, he’s still behind Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel. Flacco started the first four weeks, taking the Browns to a 1-3 record. When the team finally made a change at QB1, Gabriel got the nod, not Shedeur. Right after that, we all saw what was coming.

Deion Sanders took to social media with a cryptic post and left everyone wondering what he really meant. “They lied!” He captioned, while sharing a post that reads, “Who told u life would be easy? Who said your dreams would come readily & who told u that u wouldn’t have to work for everything? They LIED. Our decisions are what make life difficult & consistent hard world is what it takes to win at life. Ain’t nobody stopping u, Go!”

It’s the second time Deion has shared something after the QB news. The essence of the post, however, seems crystal clear. Life has been tough for Shedeur Sanders ever since he was picked by the Browns at No. 144. And the signs are clear: Shedeur’s decision to choose the Browns rather than the Ravens or the Philadelphia Eagles had made his life difficult. Of course, the 2025 season is just four weeks in. And sure, Shedeur could start deep into his rookie season. But that’s a story for another day.

For now, we all saw it coming. During the roster cutdowns, Kevin Stefanski named Gabriel as Flacco’s backup. So, after Flacco started 1-3, completed 58.1% of his passes for 815 yards, with two touchdowns and six interceptions, naming Gabriel QB1 is no breaking news. However, it’s still bad news for Shedeur.

Shedeur was routinely buried on the depth chart during the offseason. But he indeed gave a tough time to his fellow signal callers. Take the preseason opener, for instance. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-10 Browns win. But an oblique injury sidelined him in preseason week 2, and a poor outing in the preseason finale confirmed his role as an emergency QB. And he’s still an emergency QB.

On top of that, considering Deshaun Watson would be eligible to come off PUP starting this week, it’s safe to say that Shedeur doesn’t seem to have a clear future in Cleveland. Sure, Cleveland isn’t expected to open Watson’s window to return just yet. But that doesn’t make Shedeur’s journey any better. While Coach Prime believes that “Ain’t nobody stopping you,” we’ll see how Shedeur flip things up in his rookie season.

Dillon Gabriel is the starter, while Shedeur Sanders remained persistent

“Change in Cleveland: Browns are benching veteran QB Joe Flacco in favor of rookie QB Dillon Gabriel, per sources. The Browns were informed of the change this morning,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the news on Wednesday, October 1. The Oregon Ducks product will get his first start against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5 in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

After a tough 34-10 loss against the Detroit Lions, where Flacco completed just 16 of 34 passes for 184 yards with two interceptions, Stefanski shrugged off any questions about QB changes. “I understand the question, especially when we are struggling the way we are on offense,” the head coach said.

“But that’s not our focus right now. To have any success on either side of the ball, you need to play well and play together. Right now, we have too many things going wrong, and we all own that. It isn’t because of one player.” But just a few days before the Vikings game, Stefanski pulled the plug and named Gabriel the QB1.

Gabriel has limited action in two regular-season games so far. In Week 2 against the Ravens, he completed all three of his passes for 19 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, he couldn’t complete his lone pass against the Lions in Week 4. Now that he’s the QB1, he’ll surely be under the microscope. As for Shedeur Sanders? Well, he’s a question in Cleveland.