Shedeur Sanders’ behavior over limited reps in QB competition speaks volumes originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Cleveland Browns entered Day 3 of training camp with one noticeable common thread. If there is a four-person quarterback competition, it hasn’t started yet. If fans and onlookers were expecting the proverbial light switch to get flipped once training camp began, the coaching staff did not receive that memo.
With each minicamp and even three days into training camp, one thing seems abundantly clear. There are only two quarterbacks whose reps, coaching attention and practice activities suggest they are competing for depth chart positioning. Neither is a rookie.
Through three days of training camp, not much looks different from the minicamps that preceded it. Helmets and shorts, mostly drill oriented, with some team periods at not full speed. This is by design under the current collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players: Teams cannot practice in pads during the first week of training camp.
And the predominant narrative during voluntary and mandatory minicamps has been front and center this week as well: the lack of first-team reps for Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. Most of what was said by the coaching staff suggested training camp would be different, leaning into the notion the staff wanted the rookies to work on the playbook, presnap reads and the operational aspect of the position. What has taken place on the practice field through the first three days of training camp would suggest they aren’t ready to flip that switch.
During the five years of the Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry regime in Cleveland, one thing has been consistently true: Nothing gets out before they want it out.
In this one regard, not to be confused with winning, the Stefanski/Berry Browns are almost “Belichickian” when it comes to non-answers, coach speak, and not providing anything to the public that is not required by the league. Whether it’s the media or it’s the fans, neither should expect to know anything until Week 1 is imminent. It would not be shocking to go into the second preseason game and still not have a concrete idea on what the QB depth chart will look like.
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In the world of professional sports, there might not be another team with worse success at any one position than the Browns at quarterback. In the past 25 years, an argument could be made that they have not had one “good” QB. There is an argument to be made for Baker Mayfield, but he wasn’t the same player with the Browns that he is now.
In their history, if you include Mayfield, the Browns have had four “good” quarterbacks (Otto Graham, Brian Sipe, Bernie Kosar and Baker Mayfield) in 79 years. The franchise has historically been a run dominant, defensive team. Perhaps, Stefanski and his staff are running this QB competition like a marathon, and not a sprint. It’s exactly what is called for in this particular situation.
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For Colorado Buffaloes fans as well as Sanders fans, this competition will be reevaluated at the end of each week. As players, such as Sanders, make advances with what the team wants him working on, Stefanski and his staff will make adjustments to “the plan” on a week-to-week basis. What is true today, might not be true next week.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.