What a weird, strange trip we’ve all been on with Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders. And we’re not even through his rookie season.
Hyped to the moon before the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders plummeted to the fifth round, where he was the second quarterback selected by the Browns behind Dillon Gabriel. The Browns stumbled through the first half of the NFL season, with their initial starter, Joe Flacco, eventually traded, and Gabriel failing to establish himself as the heir apparent. After many months of salacious rumormongering and over-the-top reporting on the career of a third-string quarterback, Sanders finally got the call to start last week and made the most of it, leading the Browns to a win (earning self-congratulatory praise from President Trump).
While he might be in the starting spot now, there have been many strange rumblings about the Browns and their intentions around Sanders. One of the most prominent, yet unfounded, conspiracy theories to surface during the season was the notion that head coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t want Sanders on the roster and has been actively sabotaging him.
While much of this conversation has been happening on social media platforms and message boards, the News-Herald and Morning-Journal reporter Jeff Schudel went straight to the source on Wednesday, asking Sanders point-blank what he thinks of that theory.
Conspiracy theorists say #Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was purposely “sabotaging” Shedeur Sanders the first nine weeks of the season. Sanders addressed those charges Wednesday ahead of his start against the #49ers Sunday. pic.twitter.com/EompYe0ksL
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) November 26, 2025
“Hey, Shedeur, not from you, but all your supporters out there say that Kevin Stefanski was sabotaging you,” said Schudel.
“So you just want to start trouble, huh?” responded Sanders.
“No, I want to ask you what your relationship with him is,” replied the reporter.
“Yeah, well, what people do outside the building isn’t really in my control. It’s not in my power. So I don’t… You act like I go out there and tell him to do whatever. That’s not nothing I could control or there’s nothing I could do,” said Sanders. “But overall, I’m just happy to be here. Coach Stefanski, he’s been coaching since I got here, and he’s been doing a very great job with everything that’s going on.”
“But what is your relationship like with him when we don’t see you guys together?” Schudel followed up.
“Definitely like a coach,” the QB replied. “He tells me what I need to do on and off the field. We’ve definitely grown. Our relationship and everything has grown, so I’m just thankful to be here.”
Now, everything Sanders says and does is put under a microscope so defenders and critics can jump to their own conclusions. So whether it’s the specific words he used, his body language, or the fact that he was asked the questions to begin with, will likely inform how people interpret his answers.
For what it’s worth, Stefanski was asked about the narrative back in August, saying, “I’m committed to his development, just like all of our rookies. We’ll continue to focus on getting our guys better. That’s what we will stay committed to, and that’s what’s important to me.”