Shedeur Sanders
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Ryan Clark did not hold back when discussing the Browns' handling of Shedeur Sanders
The Cleveland Browns have perhaps the most unique quarterback situation in recent memory. While Joe Flacco has been named the team’s Week 1 starter, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders all appear set to earn spots on the 53-man roster. However, the team’s handling of Sanders continues to generate controversy, leading to former Pro Bowl safety Ryan Clark weighing in on the situation.
Sanders has had eyes on him all offseason long after his historic fall in the 2025 NFL Draft, as folks wondered how he would fare in Cleveland’s quarterback room. While Sanders has held his own this offseason, there’s a conspiracy going around that the Browns are actively setting up the rookie quarterback to fail. When discussing the subject, Clark made his thoughts on the situation extremely clear.
Ryan Clark Gets Brutally Honest on Browns’ Handling of Shedeur Sanders
Entering the 2025 draft, Sanders was widely expected to be a first-round pick. However, he wasn’t selected on either of the first two days of the draft, and it wasn’t until the Browns traded up the board that he was selected with the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round of the draft. Considering all the hype surrounding Sanders, it was the most stunning draft day fall in the history of the league.
If there was a place for Sanders to land, though, it was Cleveland. With Deshaun Watson re-rupturing his Achilles tendon in January, the starting quarterback gig was wide open heading into the season. Flacco was always believed to be the guy with the inside track to start in Week 1, but the assumption was that Sanders would have a shot to make the job his.
While Sanders has gotten playing time, he hasn’t always been put in the most advantageous situations. This has only strengthened a conspiracy theory suggesting that the Browns didn’t want to draft Sanders and are working on ensuring he doesn’t succeed with the team. In Clark’s eyes, though, Cleveland is treating Sanders like a fifth-round pick, which is what he is at the end of the day.
“They’re treating Shedeur Sanders like a fifth-round pick,” Clark said on “Get Up.” “We’re not covering every fifth-round pick in the NFL hoping that he gets an opportunity to be the starter on day one. We felt like, ‘Oh my goodness, they got a diamond in the rough. Shedeur Sanders fell to the fifth round.’ They felt like they evaluated him there, and that’s where they picked him.”
Could Browns Turn to Shedeur Sanders at Quarterback in 2025?
Shedeur Sanders, Browns
GettyQuarterback Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns.
The narrative surrounding Sanders and his fall in the draft has complicated the start of his tenure with the Browns. Yes, he has a ton of potential, but there’s a reason the team selected him in the fifth round. With that in mind, it’s not a surprise he’s slotting in behind Flacco, Pickett, and Gabriel, who was picked in the third round of the 2025 draft, on Cleveland’s quarterback depth chart.
If things go south for the Browns this year, they could turn to Sanders under center at some point, but he’s not going to be handed the starting job because it’s what fans want to see. As Clark noted, Sanders has to prove himself just like every other player selected in the fifth round, and that’s going to take some time, which could ultimately result in him playing a limited role for Cleveland as a rookie.