Browns Face Backlash From NFL Players on Shedeur Sanders Decision
Heading into the bye week, it would appear to be a good time for the Browns to take a deep breath, evaluate the roster and make a decision on how to proceed with the second half of the season. That’s how most organizations would handle the rough start Cleveland has had. But with his postgame declaration on Sunday that he was sticking with struggling quarterback
And across the league, former NFL players–from LeSean McCoy to Shaun King–are weighing in on the bizarre fealty that Stefanski and the team are showing Gabriel, who is 1-3 as the starter and rated No. 36 out of 36 quarterbacks by Pro Football Focus.
Said former veteran lineman Richie Incognito: “Gabriel played like (expletive). You don’t take the bye week to evaluate, ‘Hey, should we give this kid (Sanders) a chance? Is he going to give us a shot in the arm?’ … This situation stinks. There’s some bull (expletive) going on.”
Browns’ Stefanski Has an Issue With Shedeur Sanders
That’s been the theme of the week, and it is not likely to change with the bye week. The Browns, despite their 2-6 record, have a chance to get back into the race for the AFC North division, which is led by the 4-3
Stefanski’s stubbornness was an issue for former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III.
“When you look at a guy like Shedeur Sanders, every chance Kevin Stefanski has gotten, to put him down, to not put him in a position to be successful, he has done it,”
GettyQuarterback Dillon Gabriel of the Cleveland Browns.
Shedeur Sanders Was a Better Prospect Than Dillon Gabriel
Former NFL quarterback Shaun King, speaking on “The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show,” said the problem is that the Browns never should have picked Gabriel in the first place and don’t want to admit a mistake.
“The most egregious pick in the 2025 draft was the Browns picking Dillon Gabriel in the third round,” King said, who was a second-round pick himself. “There’s no way you can evaluate the quarterback position and have him rating as a higher prospect than Shedeur Sanders. There’s no way you can be an astute quarterback evaluator and think he was worthy of an asset as valuable as a third-round pick. We’ve got to get to the root of the problem here. That was an egregious draft pick.
“That was a terrible draft pick. Now, don’t accelerate the mistake by continuing down the path that you never should have went down in the first place. It’s time to go to Shedeur Sanders simply because he was a better prospect coming out of college than Dillon Gabriel.”
Browns’ Gabriel Not as Smart as the Team Thought
Finally, there’s LeSean McCoy, the six-time Pro Bowl running back and two-time Super Bowl champion. He conceded that starting Gabriel makes sense because he was a polished player in college who was projected to be mostly mistake-free. But he is making plenty of mistakes.
“The reason why is he’s starting is, some of it is where he got drafted, the third round. And he’s supposed to be one of them quarterbacks where he’s smart,”
“The argument is, why are we not playing Shedeur? Because of that, (Gabriel) is smart. But it’s time to move on now. Because we’ve seen it. What are we waiting on? They getting beat, every week, they getting beat on. … Are we going to roll with Dillon for the future? Where we got Shedeur who everybody wants to see? Maybe Shedeur is better than we thought. Maybe he’s not, and you know what, maybe he does a bad job and now it quiets the whispers about whether he should play or not.”
Why 10-Time Gold Glove Winner Could Be Cubs Perfect Trade Fit
One of the most intriguing stories during last MLB offseason was whether the St. Louis Cardinals were going to trade eight-time MLB All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner Nolan Arenado.
It was clear why the Cardinals wanted to trade Arenado. They were trying to begin a rebuilding phase, and keeping a 34-year-old player whose best days are behind him but still has two years and $42 million on his contract (as of this current offseason) makes all the sense in the world.
And given that Arenado is still a respectable offensive threat and remains one of baseball's best defensive players, they surely assumed they'd get a good return for him.
However, Arenado has a full no-trade clause in his contract. And last winter, he said he would only accept a trade to the Houston Astros, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, and the San Diego Padres.
The Cardinals' front office then tried to trade Arenado to the Astros, but he decided to turn it down, which was apparently owed to Arenado thinking the Astros' having traded Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs was a signal they weren't trying to win right now.
Fast forward a year, and the Cardinals had a disappointing 2025 season, and Arenado was mediocre on offense (he hit .237 with 12 home runs and a .666 OPS), which diminished his trade value.
Arenado has also come out and said that he thinks his time in St. Louis is done and that he would be more open to being traded this winter.
Could this create a path for the Chicago Cubs to pursue him?
Why a Cubs-Nolan Arenado Union Could Make Sense
Third base is arguably the Cubs' weakest infield position, with Matt Shaw slated as the starter heading into 2026. There's a good chance Chicago will target this position via trade and free agency, which is the first reason why they could pursue Arenado.
What's more, St. Louis clearly wants to offload Arenado's contract. If Chicago were willing to take that on, they wouldn't have to give too much away in terms of prospects. And there's no question that Arenado's veteran presence and leadership would be beneficial among the Cubs' young roster.
While Arenado has regressed on offense, he can still rebound and be an average MLB hitter next season, and his defense remains world-class. Not to mention that Cubs fans would love poaching one of the Cardinals' top players.
All of this is to say that the Cubs' front office should at least consider inquiring about a trade for Arenado this winter.
