After the game, Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot summed up Sanders' role simply: "And no, the Browns aren't cutting Shedeur Sanders." It didn't matter that Sanders was 3-for-6 for 14 yards, or that he took five sacks.

Nobody is out to get Shedeur Sanders. He had to play better than he did to win the Browns QB battle. Fans of Sanders and/or Colorado football have claimed that the NFL is "out to get" Sanders and that there's some sort of league-wide conspiracy against the quarterback ever since he fell to the Browns' laps in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Coach Kevin Stefanski selected the rookie third-round pick as Joe Flacco’s backup on Tuesday after the initial 53-man roster was set. Gabriel looked set as the second quarterback after Cleveland dealt Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 draft Monday night.

- Cleveland Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) looks on during a preseason NFL football game between the Carolina Panthers and the Cleveland Browns Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman,