The Cleveland Browns drafting Shedeur Sanders, even in the fifth round, came as more than a surprise to one insider. Browns sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala shared her thoughts on the organization’s move—as best she could—on 93.7 The Fan. I think it would be fair to characterize her remarks as interesting, so let’s examine them.
On the Browns drafting Shedeur Sanders, she said, “I’m stunned”, repeating the phrase. “There’s a way that I can answer this and I can toe the line and be a responsible sideline reporter and all of that. But I’ll tell you, it completely, absolutely blew my mind in every way possible. Especially after they had taken Dillon Gabriel”.
Gabriel is another rookie quarterback the Browns chose over Sanders in the third round. Many believe—and some reports indicate—that it was owner Jimmy Haslam who made the call on Sanders. Quite frankly, it’s an easy theory to believe, and it’s perhaps one Kinkhabwala supports. Asked if she believes HC Kevin Stefanski had any role in making that selection, she said, “I’m going to plead the fifth. I’m compromised here”, referring to her role as contributor and reporter with the team.
While it’s easy to believe that Haslam forced their hand, she left the most interesting remark for last. Asked about how she thinks the Browns quarterback room will shake out, the host adding that there’s no way they get rid of Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders, she pushed back on that.
“How do you know? Shedeur Sanders is a fifth-round pick”, she said. “I mean, there’s no [guarantee that he makes the 53-man roster]. And then maybe he’s on the practice squad”.
It certainly would be something for a quarterback—or any player—to go from borderline first-round candidate to fifth-round pick to waived before his rookie season. But the reality is that the NFL burst the Shedeur Sanders bubble his celebrity father created. Teams obviously don’t view him as nearly as talented or mature or professional as the image the Colorado program fostered.
But needless to say, it would make national news if Sanders failed to make the Browns’ roster. Even if were to have a bad offseason and look clearly like the fourth-best quarterback in their camp, there will be detractors shooting them down for moving on too soon. Because, of course, they should have moved on from their higher-drafted quarterback instead.
Of course, even if it is true that Jimmy Haslam pushed the Browns to draft Shedeur Sanders, that doesn’t mean the move can’t work out. As the story goes, it was Dan Rooney who nudged the Steelers into drafting Ben Roethlisberger, after all.
