Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns’ pre-season is over. Their walk-off 19-17 win over the Los Angeles rams capped a perfect 3-0 pre-season for the team. While the team saw a lot to be optimistic about, now is time for the tough decisions.
However, the team may have some options.
“Defrauding IR” Browns See Potential Shedeur Sanders Decision Go Viral Across The League
Aug 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) listens to the national anthem before the game between the Browns and the Los Angeles Rams at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Aug 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) listens to the national anthem before the game between the Browns and the Los Angeles Rams at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
In an article by Andrew Hughes of Yahoo sports titled “Browns could consider trading Kenny Pickett or defrauding IR with fake Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel injury” a very interesting scenario was laid out:
The Cleveland Browns have now seen what they have in their two rookie quarterbacks, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, in real game action. Albeit the preseason.
Browns GM Andrew Berry is likely going to keep both his third-round pick and fifth-round flier. But there’s a low chance one of them will get much of a chance this season for the franchise, and there’s a zero-percent chance both of them will.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports that unless the team considers trading Kenny Pickett – which is a scenario Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot has shut down – we could see a fake injury, an “injury,” as Florio differentiates from an injury.
“The ultimate question could be whether the Browns trust rookie Dillon Gabriel (more likely) or rookie Shedeur Sanders (less likely) to be the No. 2 to Flacco. If so, they can try to trade Kenny Pickett. If not, Pickett would stay as the No. 2, with the Browns possibly sliding Gabriel or Sanders to IR — due to an injury or an ‘injury,’” Florio wrote.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) watches quarterback Dillon Gabriel (5) during day two of NFL rookie minicamp at the Cleveland Browns training facility on Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.
Cleveland quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) watches quarterback Dillon Gabriel (5) during day two of NFL rookie minicamp at the Cleveland Browns training facility on Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.
Florio suggested in a different piece that Sanders will be left unfulfilled in almost any scenario in Cleveland.
“Whether he gets that chance in Cleveland remains to be seen; however, he’s under contract with the Browns for four years. His career is in their hands, unless and until they trade him or release him,” Florio wrote.
“For now, it sounds as if they will be doing neither. While that will keep him on the team, it will most likely keep him from fulfilling his goals as a player.”
Based on the backlash Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has received since Shedeur’s preseason debut, whenever the “Grown QB” has sat out, which was one game, he’d be playing with fire should he defraud the NFL’s IR with a fake Sanders injury.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) throws as quarterback Dillon Gabriel (5) looks on during NFL training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. © Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Cleveland quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) throws as quarterback Dillon Gabriel (5) looks on during NFL training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. © Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) watches quarterback Dillon Gabriel (5) during day two of NFL rookie minicamp at the Cleveland Browns training facility on Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.
Cleveland quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) watches quarterback Dillon Gabriel (5) during day two of NFL rookie minicamp at the Cleveland Browns training facility on Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.
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