Shedeur controvesy moves to Cleveland
Always chaotic Browns QB room suddenly very crowded
Former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, rated by NFL Draft Scout and others as a first-round prospect in the NFL’s 2025 Draft, ended his historic free fall Saturday, when the Cleveland Browns traded up in the fifth round to take him at No. 144 overall.
FWIW: Shedeur was drafted 55 spots higher than Tom Brady, who was selected No. 199 overall by the New England Patriots in 2000.
FWIW II: Cleveland’s current quarterback room is crowded and uncomfortable. So is the Browns’ history with quarterbacks, including drafting Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield No. 1 in 2018, then letting him go in 2022. He found his way to Tampa Bay, where he led the Bucs to consecutive playoff appearances.
Before this draft, Schedeur consistently used the word “legendary” about himself and his future.
It certainly is so far, but not for the reasons he intended. Still, after he was picked, Sanders posted to X: "Thank you GOD."
Sanders immediately shifts from the most significant controversy in the 90-year history of the NFL Draft to a team that has been embroiled in controversy about its quarterbacks since the franchise returned to Cleveland in 1999 following a three-year absence after owner Art Modell infamously relocated to Baltimore.
Forty quarterbacks have started for the Browns during that time frame, 10 more than the next-closest team. Sanders joins a reshaped, and now very crowded, quarterback room with an opportunity to compete for a starting role early on.
This will be interesting, to put it mildly.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said earlier in the week that every player in the quarterback room will compete to be the starter.
Oh boy.
When Cleveland defensive star Myles Garrett said the Browns had a clear plan at quarterback, he probably wasn’t think it was "Keep Deshaun Watson, trade for Kenny Pickett, sign Joe Flacco, and then draft Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.”
But that is what happened.
Watson’s overall issues make Schedeur’s controversy look small-time — he has the remainder of a $200-plus-million contract. He is expected to miss a significant portion of the 2025 season after re-tearing his right Achilles tendon.
This offseason, the Browns acquired Pickett in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles and re-signed 40-year-old Flacco in free agency. Flacco led the Browns to a one-and-done appearance in the playoffs after the 2023 season. Lest we forget, Flacco was a Super Bowl XLVII MVP, after which he became the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, worth up to $120.6 million over six years. He was passed by Aaron Rodgers a couple of months later.
There was even some humor in this whole thing.
Sanders' father, NFL legend Deion Sanders, threw some shade at Flacco during opening night of the draft. A camera caught Deion and Shedeur discussing the Browns, who had traded back from No. 2 overall and selected Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham with the No. 5 overall pick. Due to the trade, Cleveland held two of the top four picks in the second round.
"I'll tell you who they got. They got Joe Flacco," Shedeur Sanders told his father.
"Flacco my age!" the elder Sanders said with a smile. "I like Flacco."
Actually, Sanders is 17 years older than Flacco.
The Browns were linked to Sanders after spending extensive time with him throughout the draft process but ultimately passed on him multiple times. Cleveland traded back with the Jacksonville Jaguars from the No. 2 to No. 5 slot, getting a trade package that included Graham, the 36th pick (which the team used on running back Quinshon Judkins) and a 2026 first-round pick.
The Browns passed on Sanders again at the end of the third round, selecting Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel with the 94th pick. When asked why the team opted not to go with Sanders, general manager Andrew Berry on Friday night noted that there were four rounds remaining and that he remained impressed with Sanders. A team source said that despite the pick of Gabriel, Sanders remained on the team's board.
Berry told reporters Saturday that, as the team entered Day 3, there were discussions about possibly targeting Sanders if he continued to fall. Berry said there was an early run on some of the players that the team had targeted in the final rounds, and as Sanders continued to be available, the decision to trade up for him came together quickly.
"We talk oftentimes about quarterback being the most important position in the sport," Berry said. "We obviously spent a lot of time with Shedeur throughout the process. He's highly accurate, can play well from the pocket, very productive college career. And we felt like it wasn't necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks, but we do believe in best player available. We do believe in positional value. We didn't necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round. So, we love adding competition to every position room and adding him to compete with guys that are already in there, we felt like that was the appropriate thing to do."
Berry later said: "Once it got to a point where it felt like it was a pretty steep discount, we just felt like, especially relative to the alternative ways that we could use this selection, this made the most sense."
During the predraft process, the Browns met with Sanders at the East-West Shrine Bowl and again at the NFL scouting combine. Cleveland also hosted Sanders on a visit, and then a large contingent traveled to Boulder, Colorado, to have dinner with him and Travis Hunter the night before their Pro Day workout.
"We felt good with him as a person," Berry said. "He works hard, he's a really good kid, he wants to be great. His teammates loved him at Colorado, and I know he'll come in here ready to work, ready to try and put his best foot forward in all areas of competition."
The team's decision-makers often praised Sanders not only for his on-field credentials but his upbringing as the son of a Pro Football Hall of Famer who was his collegiate head football coach.
A four-year starter in college — Sanders spent his first two seasons at FCS Jackson State, playing for his father before following him to Colorado. Shedeur led the FBS with a 74 percent completion rate last season, and his 37 passing touchdowns were second most in the FBS. A second-team All-America selection, Sanders was named the 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the nation's top upperclassman quarterback.
Here is list of quarterbacks selected before Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft:
Cameron Ward: Drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the first overall pick.
Jaxson Dart: Selected by the New York Giants with the 25th overall pick.
Tyler Shough: Picked by the New Orleans Saints with the 40th overall pick.
Jalen Milroe: Drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the 92nd overall pick.
Dillon Gabriel: Chosen by the Cleveland Browns with the 94th overall pick.
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Cleveland’s quarterback history: full of controversy
Since joining the NFL in 1950, the Browns have had 67 quarterbacks start in at least one game for the team. But the Browns began before 1950 with arguably the best quarterback in pro football history. Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 — December 17, 2003) quarterbacked the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. Graham is regarded by critics as one of the most dominant players of his era and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, having taken the Browns to league championship games every year between 1946 and 1955, making ten championship appearances, and winning seven of them. With Graham at quarterback, the Browns posted a record of 105 wins, 17 losses, and four ties, including a 9–3 win–loss record in the AAFC and NFL playoffs. He holds the NFL record for career average yards gained per pass attempt (8.63). He also holds the record for the highest career winning percentage for an NFL starting quarterback, at 81 percent. Graham also spent one year playing pro basketball. Of course his team won the league championship. 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 Cleveland quarterbacks over the years The number of regular season games each player started during the season is listed to the right. The Browns were in the All-American Football Conference from 1946 until 1949, then joined the National Football League. Season(s) Quarterback(s) Games in parenthesis 1946 Otto Graham (11) / Cliff Lewis (3) 1947 Otto Graham (9) / Cliff Lewis (5) 1948 Otto Graham (14) 1949 Otto Graham (11) / Cliff Lewis (1) 1950 Otto Graham (12) 1951 Otto Graham (12) 1952 Otto Graham (12) 1953 Otto Graham (11) / George Ratterman (1) 1954 Otto Graham (12) 1955 Otto Graham (12) 1956 Tommy O'Connell (5) / George Ratterman (4) / Babe Parilli (3) 1957 Tommy O'Connell (9) / Milt Plum (3) 1958 Milt Plum (12) 1959 Milt Plum (12) 1960 Milt Plum (12) 1961 Milt Plum (13) / Len Dawson (1) 1962 Jim Ninowski (7) / Frank Ryan (7) 1963 Frank Ryan (13) / Jim Ninowski (1) 1964 Frank Ryan (14) 1965 Frank Ryan (12) / Jim Ninowski (2) 1966 Frank Ryan (14) 1967 Frank Ryan (13) / Gary Lane (1) 1968 Bill Nelsen (11) / Frank Ryan (3) 1969 Bill Nelsen (14) 1970 Bill Nelsen (12) / Mike Phipps (1) / Don Gault (1) 1971 Bill Nelsen (13) / Mike Phipps (1) 1972 Mike Phipps (13) / Bill Nelsen (1) 1973 Mike Phipps (14) 1974 Mike Phipps (9) / Brian Sipe (5) 1975 Mike Phipps (11) / Brian Sipe (2) / Will Cureton (1) 1976 Brian Sipe (14) / Mike Phipps (2) 1977 Brian Sipe (9) / Dave Mays (4) / Terry Luck (1) 1978 Brian Sipe (16) 1979 Brian Sipe (16) 1980 Brian Sipe (16) 1981 Brian Sipe (16) 1982 Brian Sipe (6) / Paul McDonald (3) 1983 Brian Sipe (14) / Paul McDonald (2) 1984 Paul McDonald (16) 1985 Bernie Kosar (10) / Gary Danielson (6) 1986 Bernie Kosar (16) 1987 Bernie Kosar (12) / Jeff Christensen (2) / Gary Danielson (1) 1988 Bernie Kosar (9) / Mike Pagel (4) / Don Strock (2) / Gary Danielson (1) 1989 Bernie Kosar (16) 1990 Bernie Kosar (13) / Mike Pagel (3) 1991 Bernie Kosar (16) 1992 Mike Tomczak (8) / Bernie Kosar (7) / Todd Philcox (1) 1993 Bernie Kosar (7) / Vinny Testaverde (6) / Todd Philcox (3) 1994 Vinny Testaverde (13) / Mark Rypien (3) 1995 Vinny Testaverde (12) / Eric Zeier (4) 1996–1998 Suspended operations 1999 Tim Couch (14) / Ty Detmer (2) 2000 Doug Pederson (8) / Tim Couch (7) / Spergon Wynn (1) 2001 Tim Couch (16) 2002 Tim Couch (14) / Kelly Holcomb (2) 2003 Kelly Holcomb (8) / Tim Couch (8) 2004 Jeff Garcia (10) / Luke McCown (4) / Kelly Holcomb (2) 2005 Trent Dilfer (11) / Charlie Frye (5) 2006 Charlie Frye (13) / Derek Anderson (3) 2007 Derek Anderson (15) / Charlie Frye (1) 2008 Derek Anderson (9) / Brady Quinn (3) / Ken Dorsey (3) / Bruce Gradkowski (1) 2009 Brady Quinn (9) / Derek Anderson (7) 2010 Colt McCoy (8) / Jake Delhomme (4) / Seneca Wallace (4) 2011 Colt McCoy (13) / Seneca Wallace (3) 2012 Brandon Weeden (15) / Thad Lewis (1) 2013 Jason Campbell (8) / Brandon Weeden (5) / Brian Hoyer (3) 2014 Brian Hoyer (13) / Johnny Manziel (2) / Connor Shaw (1) 2015 Josh McCown (8) / Johnny Manziel (6) / Austin Davis (2) 2016 Cody Kessler (8) / Robert Griffin III (5) / Josh McCown (3) 2017 DeShone Kizer (15) / Kevin Hogan (1) 2018 Baker Mayfield (13) / Tyrod Taylor (3) 2019 Baker Mayfield (16) 2020 Baker Mayfield (16) 2021 Baker Mayfield (14) / Case Keenum (2) / Nick Mullens (1) 2022 Jacoby Brissett (11) / Deshaun Watson (6) 2023 Deshaun Watson (6) / Joe Flacco (5) / Dorian Thompson-Robinson (3) / P. J. Walker (2) / Jeff Driskel (1) 2024 Jameis Winston (7) / Deshaun Watson (7) / Dorian Thompson-Robinson (2) / Bailey Zappe (1)