Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski offered little clarity on Friday when pressed about rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders‘ role during the team’s opening day of rookie minicamp.
In a situation already stirring intrigue, Stefanski‘s vague response only fueled more questions surrounding how the Browns plan to handle their unusually crowded quarterback room.
The Browns raised eyebrows in the 2025 NFL Draft by selecting not one, but two quarterbacks-Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel with the 94th overall pick in the third round, and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders with the 144th pick in the fifth round.
Given the team’s limited draft capital, using two selections on quarterbacks indicated that Cleveland was casting a wide net in its post-Deshaun Watson era. But how the team deploys those players, and what their roles will be, remains clouded in mystery.
Stefanski downplays QB pecking order after Gabriel leads reps
On Friday, it was Gabriel who took the bulk of the snaps during minicamp. Sanders, who arrived with the flash of a household name and the pedigree of being Deion Sanders’ son, was noticeably less involved. When reporters asked Stefanski whether that rotation signaled any early preference, the head coach deflected.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t look into it as anything…” Stefanski said, according to Browns insider Brad Stainbrook. “I think you’ll see the whole weekend, going through the spring. We don’t pay too much attention to who is going first.”
While the statement suggested equal opportunity, some found it odd that Sanders-widely projected as a first- or second-round pick until his dramatic fall in the draft-was not given a more prominent role on Day 1.
His drop to the fifth round sparked plenty of debate across the NFL, and his selection by Cleveland came only after the team had already prioritized Gabriel with a top-100 pick. That context alone gives the former Oregon quarterback a perceived edge heading into offseason workouts.
To make matters more complicated, controversy was already brewing after the team assigned jersey No. 2-not to Shedeur Sanders, who wore that number throughout his college career-but to veteran wide receiver DeAndre Carter. Instead, Sanders was issued No. 12, a change that didn’t sit well with many fans or even Sanders’ representation. Some viewed the decision as a symbolic slight.
“Man, give me number 99. I just want to play ball,” Sanders reportedly told his camp, according to his agent, Hellion “Boog” Knight.
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