The Cleveland Browns had an ugly season last year. Things went so poorly that the face of the franchise, defensive lineman Myles Garrett, requested a trade away from the franchise (which he rescinded after becoming the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback at the time).
With last year’s opening week starting quarterback, DeShaun Watson, looking at missing the entire 2025 campaign after suffering a setback that prematurely ended his 2024 season, the Browns loaded up at the position heading into this season, but the play this year under center has been atrocious.
Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco opened the season as the starter, but after he proved ineffective, he was replaced in the role by rookie Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel also struggled to perform in the role, but head coach Kevin Stefanksi continued to support him as the starter.
Unfortunately for Gabriel, he suffered a concussion in last weekend’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Rookie Shedeur Sanders replaced Gabriel, but much like the quarterbacks before him, he struggled mightily.
A big part of the quarterback struggles this season for Cleveland can be attributed to the struggles of the offensive line. In retrospect, the offensive line being one of the worst in the league shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering the unit was drinking beers during practice over training camp.
> best pic of the summer:
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> big men on both teams cracking open Miller Lites on the field after practice like they did in the 70s [pic.twitter.com/tbyYGLuRV0](https://t.co/tbyYGLuRV0)
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> — Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) [August 14, 2025](https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1956014416966693016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
It’s worth wondering if Browns head coach Kevin Stefanksi has any idea what it takes to be the leader of grown men at this point. After the season the Browns were coming off, there’s no way he should’ve allowed his players to behave this way during a practice session.
It’ll be interesting to see how long Stefanksi is employed.