The Cleveland Browns have officially solidified their 53-man roster ahead of their Week 1 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals to kick off the 2025 NFL season, and after months of speculation, the quarterback room has been settled after a four-man competition throughout camp.
Kenny Pickett was recently traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, opening up the door for rookie fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders to be named the No. 3 QB on the depth chart despite a brutal showing in the team’s final preseason game, which stirred up plenty of controversy.
The Browns pulled Sanders for the final drive after getting sacked five times in limited action leading up to that point in a 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams, and while many gave head coach Kevin Stefanski a lot of pushback for pulling the rookie, team legend Josh Cribbs recently defended the decision.
“I don’t think the Browns and Kevin Stefanski need to see him run a two-minute [drill]. He played a complete game the first preseason game where he proved he has what it takes. He could play in this league. That’s it. Now, they’re just going to develop him. They don’t need another game. They don’t need to see him with the 1s and 2s. He played already, and I think we missed that as a fanbase and even as a Shedeur fan, they feel like, ‘Oh, they’re sabotaging.’ No, they know what he can do,” Cribbs said.
"He PLAYED already, and I think we missed that as a fanbase and even as a Shedeur fan."@JoshCribbs16 defends the #Browns for NOT playing Shedeur Sanders during the final drive against the Rams. #DawgPound
Presented by @smartchoicewin_ https://t.co/X2IWJiLwKh pic.twitter.com/xsTf2DxlCF
— The Top Dawgs Show (@TopDawgShow) August 28, 2025
Cribbs is right, and it’s nice to hear someone in the media acting as a voice of reason when it comes to Shedeur Sanders, because the discussions around anything he does have gone off the rails time and time again.
Sanders was having a poor showing and couldn’t stop getting sacked, and the pros of getting one final preseason drive against third and fourth-string defenders didn’t outweigh the potential negatives of him getting hurt.
It was also a classy move to give fifth-string QB Tyler Huntley a chance to win the game, likely knowing he was about to be cut, so he could have one solid lasting impression as a Brown that could potentially help him get signed by another team this season.
Sanders can breathe easily now that he has officially made the team, and hopefully, some time away from the spotlight will do him some good, and he can soak up all the knowledge he can from Joe Flacco.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals Big Concern About Browns' Offense This Season
