With the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback race set to be incredibly competitive, one radio host pushed back hard on the idea that the team may be actively trying to hurt the chances of one of those hopeful starters.
The Browns will be without usual starter Deshaun Watson for most of – if not all of – the 2025 season after his rehab from a torn Achilles tendon hit a snag.
Additionally, this past week, projected backup Kenny Pickett injured his hamstring – bringing another twist to the race.
That leaves Cleveland with three healthy quarterbacks: 40-year-old Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco and a pair of rookies in Oregon product Dillon Gabriel and Colorado signal caller Shedeur Sanders.
But in recent days, fans have become concerned that the Browns may be trying to put up roadblocks in front of Sanders, the son of Hall-of-Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, after it’s been noticed that he isn’t getting reps with the first teamers.
To Cleveland sports radio hos Ken Carman of 92.3 The Fan, that idea is outrageous as he went on a fiery rant on Thursday.
The Browns quarterback race is heating up with Shedeur Sanders still in the mix for Cleveland
One Cleveland sports radio host blasted the idea that the Browns are ‘sabotaging’ Sanders
‘But they are doing everything they can for a guy like the name of Sanders, a star of his caliber. They’re doing everything they can to provide the fairest shot possible for him,’ Carman said on his show.
‘I will take it to my grave, whether it’s in the next minute, the next 30 minutes, or the next 30 years, I will take it to my grave and say it right to St. Peter’s face. They are doing nothing to try to break a quarterback. They’re doing nothing to try to break Shedeur Sanders. Especially Shedeur Sanders.
‘For anybody out there who is not a real Browns fan who might be listening to this, I am telling you right now, shaking as hard as I can, they are not doing anything to try to sabotage or try to break Shedeur Sanders – or to not be fair to Shedeur Sanders.
‘How many jerseys did he already sell? How many autographs has he already signed in Greater Cleveland? How many events has he already had in Greater Cleveland?… How much charitable contribution has this man made to society over the last umpteen years here, or at least the last four since he was at Jackson State and certainly probably before because of who his father is. How many things has he done?
‘They’re trying to break Shedeur Sanders? After the cloud this franchise has been under over the last three seasons, they don’t want that guy to be a franchise quarterback for them? The team that’s more obsessed with finding a franchise quarterback than any team out there; they don’t want Shedeur Sanders to play for them? Please.
‘If you are not a real Browns fan, and I understand that many of the people who are saying these things aren’t and they’ve just looked at the Browns as not a good franchise and something they have not paid attention to, I don’t want to tell you to pull your head from your ass because I want to be inviting to you.’
Sanders fell to the Browns in the fifth round of this year’s NFL Draft despite lofty projections
The Browns have not yet named a starting quarterback, but all signs point to Flacco being the starter in Week 1.
But the job behind him is still very much up for grabs.
Gabriel was drafted by the team in the third round while Sanders fell to the fifth round, shocking many draft analysts.
Considering the injuries to Watson and now Pickett, the choice to select two quarterbacks in the draft (which was ridiculed at the time) now seems to have worked in their favor.
The Browns begin their preseason on the road on August 8 when they travel to Charlotte to play the Carolina Panthers.
