BEREA, OH — With training camp set to start up soon next month, it is time for the Cleveland Browns to stop delaying the inevitable with quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Sanders, the much-hyped, high-speed driving m, fifth round pick out of Colorado, is set and destined to become the Browns franchise quarterback at a rate faster than 110 mph, did Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski get the memo yet, or nah?
Yes, Joe Flacco is a practical touchdown pass away from happening, or a pick, depending on the day, but there is no Flacco slander or riding the line in the 216, where the former Baltimore Ravens quarterback has gone from longtime Browns nemesis to folk hero, thanks to coming off of his couch to help lead the Browns to the playoffs two years ago.
Two years later, that brief lightning in the bottle which helped ignite the Browns postseason run, is now just a flicker of the past, as the 6’6 former Super Bowl XLVII MVP is 40, and we all know that Father Time is undefeated.
Just like what once happened in Baltimore when he was a glorified placeholder for a more ballyhooed and dynamic quarterback in future NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, the same story appears to be lining up in Cleveland with Sanders.
No, Sanders is no Jackson, but the common thread that connects the two is that they backed up and ultimately would replace Flacco as QB1.
In Cleveland, nothing is decided, but if I were a betting man, I’d wager Flacco starting Week One vs the Cincinnati Bengals with Sanders eventually replacing him by Week 9 in what could be a primetime game vs. the New York Jets.
Sadly, the Browns are doing everyone invested in their mediocre franchise a disservice in dragging out what is already inevitable: Sanders will become QB1 in Cleveland.
No lies detected. Full stop.
Kenny Pickett is the odd man out, and will be dealt to a desperate team in need of a possible stop-gap starter.
Dillion Gabriel—as much as it pains me to say, due to my UCF ties—is simply too short and an average to modest NFL arm. If the Browns were to do right by him, and move him to a team and system better suited for his talents like Miami, San Francisco or Seattle.
There is a certain type of quarterback built to play in the rugged and physical AFC North, and it ain’t him.
Best example: Johnny Manziel
That being said, this so-called facade of a “open quarterback competition” is for the sake of formality and not a true and fair one to all parties involved.
Especially when we all know who will ultimately become the new face of the team in Sanders.
Correct, time for the Browns to put him in the unemployment line