On Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns traded quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals after promoting rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel to the starting job.
Following the trade of Flacco, many assumed that Gabriel’s primary backup would be fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders, given that he is currently the only other quarterback on the active roster. However, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was non-committal about giving the 23-year-old that nod, suggesting that practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe may be in line for that role instead (h/t Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN).
“All roster type of things, I always have to be mindful of our players and our players’ development,” Stefanski said on Wednesday. “And I want to make sure that I’m always doing what’s best for our players and, of course, our team. But with young players, I’m always thinking about — last week, making the change to Dillon, you have to think long and hard about that, because these are young players that you are so invested in their development. So, I’ll let the week play out [and] make a decision later.”
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski was noncommittal today on whether rookie Shedeur Sanders — or practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe — would be the team's backup quarterback.
Story via @DanielOyefusi:https://t.co/gabuprFwja
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 8, 2025
Following his comments, Stefanski has faced some backlash, and that was no different after the ESPN crew spoke about them on Thursday.
ESPN Crew Criticizes Kevin Stefanski for Shedeur Sanders Comments
Heading into April’s draft, many anticipated that Sanders would be a first-round pick, potentially even going in the top-10. However, the Colorado alum fell all the way to the fifth round before the Browns selected him, despite his fantastic collegiate season last year.
During the 2024 season, Sanders threw for 37 touchdowns and 4,134 yards, which each led the conference. Furthermore, he finished eighth in the Heisman Award voting.
There are reasons for people to believe that Sanders can have success at the NFL level, but he has not gotten his opportunity yet, and many, including the ESPN crew, have made their opinions on that known.
“We are supposed to sit here and believe that Bailey Zappe is a guy that’s the QB2 on this squad?” Stephen A. Smith said.
“The coaching staff doesn’t believe in Shedeur Sanders,” said Mina Kimes. “I do wonder, though, if organizationally, they need to consider a trade or moving on, giving him a chance to end up somewhere else.”
“It feels that Kevin Stefanski wasn’t ready to draft Shedeur Sanders…if he is not named the backup quarterback, it’s time to part ways,” Ryan Clark said.
“He’s been there since April. They’ve got a pretty good body of work, so if they are going to not declare him as the No. 2 quarterback, I think it speaks loudly to their vantage point of him,” Dan Orlovsky said about Sanders.
🔥 Shedeur & Browns. ESPN Speaking Facts. Unanimously Calls Out Browns
"We are supposed to believe Zappe is QB2? The coaching staff doesn't believe in Shedeur. If he isn't named the backup QB, it's time to part ways" https://t.co/raOtock6fn pic.twitter.com/tYLIm2uXwQ
— JaKi 🇺🇸 (@JaKiTruth) October 9, 2025
Sanders is still very early on in his NFL career, but his immediate outlook looks pretty bleak.
Gabriel looked solid in his only start for Cleveland so far, completing 57.6% of his passes while throwing for 190 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions in a 21-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Barring injury or poor play, it seems likely that the Browns are going to stick with the Hawaii native as their quarterback.
Additionally, given that Sanders may not even be Gabriel’s immediate backup, this will make things much more difficult for him to potentially see the field anytime soon.
Not many are happy with Stefanski’s comments, especially since there is a belief that Sanders can contribute on the field.
As it stands, it looks like this saga is not going to end any time soon, and it will be worth monitoring until there is a definitive solution, potentially culminating in a trade or a promotion for Sanders.
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