The Cleveland Browns just turned up the drama in their quarterback room, and now Shedeur Sanders’ camp isn’t staying quiet. Hours after Cleveland trimmed its roster by cutting a QB, Sanders’ agent reportedly pressed head coach Kevin Stefanski to “be real” about where the rookie stands in the competition.
Look, Cleveland can’t stay out the drama business. First, it was the never-ending QB carousel, now it’s the “open competition” that wasn’t so open after all. On Sunday, the Browns chopped Tyler Huntley — the only guy in their five-man QB room who ever sniffed a Pro Bowl. Gone. Just like that. Huntley didn’t play bad this preseason, either. The man went 17-of-22 for 129 yards in limited action. But when you’re in a quarterback room stacked with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and two shiny rookies — Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel — you’re basically auditioning for someone else’s roster.
With Huntley out, the spotlight swings back to the young guns. Except here’s the twist: were they ever really in the mix? Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski kept selling this dream of an “open four-man competition.” Everybody gets a shot, right? Wrong — at least according to Shedeur Sanders’ camp.
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Boog, Shedeur’s unofficial agent, didn’t bite his tongue. After Browns insider Michael Lucas flamed the so-called QB battle on X, Boog slapped a repost on it with his own caption: “Right. Just keep it real. Nothing more, nothing less. And all is well.” Translation? Stop playing word games, Coach. Lucas’ post went deep: “The biggest Kevin Stefanski ever told us was, it was an open 4-man quarterback competition. What he should have said is all four quarterbacks are going to have a chance to compete, because that’s technically what they did. But it was never an actual competition. Shedeur Sanders and Dillon never had a chance to outdo the two veterans in practice, it was evidently clear by all the things, not just Stefanski said, but that he did.”
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Publicly, Stefanski sold it as an “open four-man competition,” but in reality, it wasn’t. Michael Lucas laid it out plain: the younger quarterbacks like Shedeur Sanders and Dillon never had a legit shot to out-duel the vets. Everything Stefanski said and did — from how reps were split in practice to how guys were treated after games — made it clear the decision was already locked in.
You can’t just take coaches at their word; you’ve gotta peep their actions. Even when Shedeur balled out against Carolina, he never got bumped up for extra reps, which showed the so-called competition was more smoke than fire. And here’s the kicker: Shedeur didn’t get his deserved preseason snaps after that, or at-least meaningful snaps (Yikes Rams). Still making the 53? Probably, but not as a starter.
But that right there proves the bigger point: if it was really a fair competition, he should’ve been given chances to climb, not just tucked into a role no matter what. Stefanski’s got the right to play coy — coaches “lie” to the media all the time to keep leverage or keep outsiders guessing — but this whole “open four-man battle” pitch was a blatant lie from the start. End of the day, it was all about optics, not truth.
So yeah, Boog told Stefanski to “keep it real,” but the coach clearly isn’t losing sleep over outside noise. He doubled down after the Browns’ preseason finale, defending how he handled Shedeur Sanders’ development—even after fans blasted him for the way Saturday night played out against the Rams.
Kevin Stefanski defends Shedeur Sanders after his preseason finale
“I don’t concern myself with outside types of things,” Stefanski said. “I’m committed to his development, just like all of our rookies. We’ll keep focusing on getting our guys better.” That’s the company line, but let’s not ignore the controversy. People were heated because Stefanski yanked Shedeur in crunch time and rolled with Tyler Huntley instead. Two minutes left, game on the line, and you bench the rookie everyone wants to see? Yeah, that didn’t sit well. Cameras even caught Shedeur looking tight on the sideline after he asked to go back in and got a hard no from Stefanski.
Here’s what really stings for the Shedeur crowd: his night was rough. Like, rough-rough. The Browns went three-and-out on four of his five drives. He finished 3-of-6 for just 14 yards and took a 24-yard sack that had everyone shaking their heads. To make matters worse, this came after an oblique tweak earlier in camp—he said it wasn’t a factor, but who knows?
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Meanwhile, Huntley swoops in, cool as you like, and marches Cleveland 46 yards in six plays for a game-winning field goal. The irony? Huntley got cut the next day, because that’s NFL life. Shedeur, though? He’s safe. Even with the bad night, he’s locked in as QB4 and probably living scout-team life for now. Stefanski claims that’s a blessing in disguise—more reps against the Browns’ starters every week, more chances to sharpen the blade. And honestly, he’s not wrong. You want your rookie to get cooked a little in practice before he’s thrown to the wolves on Sundays.
Still, fans wanted drama. They wanted the kid to sling it with the game on the line, not watch from the sideline while Huntley played hero in a meaningless preseason game. But hey, this is what Stefanski does—tight control, low risk, no surprises. Bottom line: Shedeur’s going to have to eat this one, learn from it, and grind. Flacco’s the guy, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel are still fighting for QB2, and Shedeur? He’s on the long game plan.