The Cleveland Browns may not have known what kind of product they were getting when they selected Shedeur Sanders with the 144th overall pick on day three of the NFL Draft. But they did know he would bring some much-needed media coverage. However, it seems the team’s owner, Jimmy Haslam, did not want this kind of attention.
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“If you would have told me on Friday night, driving home, y’all are picking Shedeur, I’d say, ‘That’s not happening,‘” Haslam told the press at the team’s most recent training camp. “At the end of the day, Andrew Berry made the call to pick Shedeur.”
Even though he has yet to play a single snap of professional football, Sanders has become one of the most talked-about and polarizing players of the entire NFL offseason. And it seems as if the noise is getting started. As far as Haslam’s comment is concerned, many, including NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, have criticized it vehemently.
Given the amount of backlash that the Browns are facing following the owner’s comments, many are beginning to join Sharpe in wondering why Cleveland ever bothered to draft the former Buffalo in the first place. “Who asked him that? Why did he feel the need to share that information?” Sharpe questioned on Nightcap.
“That’s unprompted. You’re dry snitching. Nobody asked you, ‘What did you think you were going to take Shedeur in?’ Nobody asked you that. I get he’s the owner, but… If you feel this way about Shedeur, why y’all still got the man? It seems like every time I turn around, somebody is trying to take a dig at him,” he added.
According to Sharpe’s co-host, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, these questions are more than fair given the fact that Haslam, who has been the owner of the Browns since 2012, has never once attempted to clarify that drafting a particular player wasn’t his idea. “He’s never done this before,” Ocho exclaimed.
Considering the long list of quarterbacks that the team has started in the past 25 years, Haslam’s comments were more than concerning to Johnson. Nevertheless, the former wide receiver is keeping the faith and suggesting that the Browns may just be in for a surprise after all.
“Since 2000, the Cleveland Browns have had 35 different starting quarterbacks. 35 different quarterbacks, but now you want to say that Shedeur Sanders wasn’t your pick? That’s probably why it’s going to work, because you had no dealings with him being drafted. Watch how god works,” said Ocho.
Sanders was withheld from participating in the team’s recent training camp activities due to soreness in his throwing arm. But even when he was able to participate, he was seldom given a chance to see first-team reps.
The race for the QB1 job appears to be as wide open as ever after Kenny Pickett went down with a hamstring injury. But it remains to be seen whether or not the Browns will end up giving Sanders the chance that many believe he deserves.
