Shedeur Sanders Sends Browns Creative Message on QB2 Status

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has been clear that Dillon Gabriel will remain the starting quarterback following the team’s Week 9 bye, saying last week that finding a way to get Shedeur Sanders live game action was not his “focus.”

Sanders has worked his way up from a fifth-round draft pick who started training camp as QB4 into the position of backup QB behind Gabriel. And while some cracks have shown over the year — with Sanders saying earlier in the season that he could play at a higher level than several current starters and adding last week that it wasn’t his decision to go inactive with a back injury ahead of the team’s game against the New England Patriots — the young QB has, for the most part, played the role of good soldier when speaking with the media.

However, Sanders got creative with his messaging upon his return to Boulder, Colorado, over the weekend. Sanders was on the sideline to support his father and former coach Deion Sanders in the Buffaloes game against Arizona.

Sanders didn’t speak to media members, though he did don a shirt that read, “The Rejected Will Be Respected” on the back.

The phrase is one that members of the Sanders family, Shedeur and Deion included, have uttered on several occasions. However, it also potentially applies to the exact situation Sanders is navigating with a Browns team still yet unwilling to play him despite a 2-6 start and mediocre to below-average play from Gabriel across four NFL starts.

Dillon Gabriel Has Yet to Truly Impress as Browns Starting QB

GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

Gabriel, a third-round pick out of Oregon, is 1-3 as the starter. He has completed 59.9 percent of his passes for 702 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in six total appearances this year.

Cleveland benched former starter Joe Flacco for Gabriel ahead of the team’s Week 5 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings in London. Gabriel went 19-of-33 for 190 yards and two scores in a game that the Browns lost in the final seconds with their defense on the field.

That performance prompted a trade of Flacco to the AFC North Division rival Cincinnati Bengals shortly thereafter, which allowed Sanders to ascend to the role of QB2. However, Gabriel has not played that well since and has been a game-managing quarterback for the most part. Analysts like Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com have reported that Cleveland wants to see Gabriel air the football out more and up the level of the passing game, though that has not happened to this point in his tenure as the starter.

Shedeur Sanders Could Get Starting Shot Sooner if Browns, Dillon Gabriel Struggle Against Jets Next Week

GettyQuarterback Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns.

After the off week, the Browns will return to the field to take on the one-win New York Jets in a road contest on November 9. Barring injury, Gabriel is definitely going to start that game. But how he plays and the team’s result could have an impact on where Cleveland goes at the QB position from there.

Based on comments from owner Jimmy Haslam, the team intends to find out what it has in each of its rookie QBs in 2025. That strongly implies that Sanders will eventually get a chance to start.

Should the Browns fall to 2-7 with a loss to one of the worst teams in the league next week, and should Gabriel play poorly, there is a chance that media and fan pressure will force Stefanski’s hand and get Sanders into the game — or at least move him closer to his chance as November rolls along.

Titans hit embarrassing milestone in comedic loss to Chargers before NFL Trade Deadline

It has been 364 days since the Tennessee Titans (1-8) won a football game at home. Sunday's 27-20 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Chargers (6-3) ensures that Tennessee will go more than a calendar year without a victory at Nissan Stadium.

The last such occasion was Nov. 3, 2024, in a 20-17 win against the New England Patriots.

Titans have no identity in 2025

According to Nick Suss of The Tennessean, teams were 85-6 when benefitting from a Pick 6 and a punt return touchdown in the same game.

The Titans became the seventh such team to lose in that situation. Linebacker Cody Barton's interception gave the Titans a 7-0 lead, their largest lead at any point this season. Rookie receiver Chimere Dike also took a punt 67 yards in the opposite direction for another touchdown.

Still, Tennessee's offense was borderline non-functioning.

Entering the fourth quarter, quarterback Cam Ward was 8-of-16 for 104 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a fumble that the offense recovered. Ward finished the day 12-of-21 for 145. The offense netted 206 total yards and was one-of-9 on third downs (11%).

Mercifully, the Titans head into the bye week to give everyone involved a break from this weekly death march of a season.

Titans Attempting To Trade WR Calvin Ridley

 

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the Titans are attempting to trade WR Calvin Ridley ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.

However, Turron Davenport confirmed with multiple team sources that the Titans are not shopping Ridley, despite having received calls about him, as well as other players.

According to Ian Rapoport, Ridley has drawn interest from multiple teams that need a receiver and believes a motivated playoff contender could pull of a deal for the veteran.

Rapoport also noted that Ridley is 30 years old, currently battling a hamstring injury, and is still owed about half of his $23 million salary in 2025, plus $3 million in guarantees in 2026. 

Ridley, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Falcons back in 2018 out of Alabama. He played out the fourth year of his four-year, $10,900,732 contract that included a $6,007,804 signing bonus.

The Falcons exercised Ridley’s fifth-year option which was scheduled to cost Atlanta $11.116 million fully guaranteed in 2022. However, it was tolled a year following his suspension for gambling. The Jaguars acquired the deal as a part of their trade for Ridley at the deadline in 2022. 

He quickly tested the market as an unrestricted free agent in 2024 after concluding his contract with Jacksonville, signing a four-year, $92 million deal with the Titans that includes $50 million guaranteed. 

In 2025, Ridley has appeared in six games and recorded 16 receptions for 290 yards (18.1 YPC) and no touchdowns. 

We’ll have more on Ridley and the Titans ahead of the trade deadline as the news is available. 

 

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