Browns HC Rejects Idea He's Trying to 'Sabotage' Shedeur Sanders, Is 'Committed' to QB

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski pushed back against the notion that he's attempting to sabotage rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, an online conspiracy theory that gained some steam after Sanders was pulled late in Saturday's preseason game and was visibly unhappy with the decision.

"Obviously I don't concern myself with outside types of things," Stefanski told reporters on Sunday (1:45 mark). But I'm committed to his development just like all of our rookies. So we'll continue to focus on getting our guys better, and that's what we'll stay committed to and what's important to me."

Sanders had a fairly rough outing on Saturday (3-of-6 for 14 yards through the air, five sacks taken), and Stefanski told reporters that the decision to remove him ahead of the two-minute drill in the fourth quarter was simply about giving Tyler Huntley some reps.

Huntley was released on Sunday, however, and there were already plenty of pundits and fans who didn't understand why he was getting snaps in a high-leverage situation rather than Sanders.

The fact that this much attention is being paid to a player who might be Cleveland's fourth-string quarterback this season, however, is likely why a number of teams passed on him once he dropped out of the first round. For teams who didn't envision him as an immediate starter, adding this level of second-guessing and external scrutiny was perhaps too much of a potential distraction to justify for a backup.

One thing the Browns likely won't mind too much, though, is Sanders being unhappy about being removed from Saturday's game.

"In the heat of the battle, you want to be that alpha," he told reporters about his response to being removed. "You want to be that dog. You want to be out there in that final two-minute drive. So of course, small things, of course frustrate, but that's what happens when you want to be a player to be able to change a franchise."

Stefanski saw it as an indication of Sanders' competitive nature.

"All of our guys are extremely competitive and want to be out there for every play," he told reporters. "So I'd never want a player to be less competitive. We want the best version of all of our players and we need to learn from all these games, learn from every play. That's what we're in the business of."

The Browns will enter the 2025 season with Joe Flacco as their starter and are expected to roster Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett as well. It remains a bizarre quarterback situation, and if the Browns struggle and Sanders doesn't see the field, it likely will remain a highly scrutinized one.