Browns Turmoil Deepens: Insider Comments Spark Fears Shedeur Sanders Is Being Pushed Out of Cleveland

A Season That Fell Apart Long Before the Final Whistle

By the time the Browns walked off the field following a 31–3 blowout loss, the outcome felt inevitable. The 2025 season, once filled with cautious optimism, had officially collapsed. The offense couldn’t run. The offensive line couldn’t protect. Special teams surrendered momentum. The defense bled points. Penalties piled up. And rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders was sacked five times behind a unit that never gave him a real chance.

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It was the kind of loss that exposes everything.

What followed, however, may prove even more damaging than the defeat itself.

Mary Kay Cabot’s Radio Appearance Raises Alarming Questions

Shortly after the loss, longtime Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot appeared on 92.3 The Fan, and her comments immediately ignited controversy across Cleveland’s fan base. While framed as evaluation and development, her remarks suggested something far more consequential: that the Browns are no longer convinced Shedeur Sanders is part of their future beyond this season.

Cabot described the organization as being on a “fact-finding mission” at quarterback and stated that Sanders “took a step back” in his most recent performance, adding that the game gave the Browns “pause” when considering whether he could be their guy at the beginning of next year.

For a rookie who has started only a handful of games under chaotic conditions, those words landed heavily.

The Meaning Behind “Fact-Finding”

In NFL circles, “fact-finding” is rarely neutral language. It often signals that a decision has not only been contemplated, but that justification is being built.

According to Cabot, the Browns intend to use Sanders’ final three starts as a determining window—essentially an audition—to decide whether they will use one of their two first-round draft picks on a quarterback in the upcoming draft. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was specifically mentioned as a potential target.

The implication was unmistakable: Sanders is not being developed as a long-term solution. He is being evaluated under a microscope few young quarterbacks survive.

The Wristband Controversy That Won’t Go Away

Compounding the situation is the now-infamous wristband incident from the Bears game. Multiple reports surfaced suggesting Sanders was given incorrect or outdated plays on his wristband, leading to confusion and miscommunication on the field.

What made matters worse was the inconsistency in postgame explanations. Head coach Kevin Stefanski suggested something had been “stuck” on the wristband. Sanders said it fell off and got muddy. Sideline reports hinted at late alterations that never reached the quarterback.

For an NFL team, such a breakdown is staggering. For it to happen to a rookie quarterback fighting for his future borders on organizational malpractice.

Yet despite those circumstances, Sanders’ performance in that game is now being cited as evidence he “took a step back.”

An Impossible Evaluation Standard

Cabot also noted that Sanders would not be tested against elite defensive competition in the coming weeks due to injuries to star edge rushers like T.J. Watt and Trey Hendrickson. On the surface, that might sound like good news for a young quarterback.

In reality, it creates a no-win scenario.

If Sanders plays well, the Browns can argue he succeeded only because elite defenders were absent. If he struggles, they can claim he failed even against weakened competition. Either outcome supports the same conclusion: justification to draft someone else.

That is not development. That is entrapment.

Ignoring the Context Around Sanders’ Struggles

What has frustrated many observers is how little context seems to matter in the Browns’ internal evaluation. Sanders has operated behind a struggling offensive line, with limited run support, inconsistent receiver play, and a coaching staff under heavy scrutiny.

In one game cited as evidence against him, Sanders was working with faulty play information. In others, key receivers dropped scoring opportunities. Yet the critique focuses narrowly on “ball placement,” “decision-making,” and “traits,” as if the environment around him were functional.

That selective lens has fueled growing belief that the organization’s mind may already be made up.

Two First-Round Picks and a New “Window”

Perhaps the most revealing moment from Cabot’s appearance came when she discussed Kevin Stefanski’s future. She suggested the head coach wants to return and “finish what he started,” adding that this season laid the foundation for what she described as “Super Bowl window two.”

The Browns, she said, will have two first-round picks, cap flexibility, and resources to “put the finishing touches” on that next window.

Noticeably absent from that vision was any clear commitment to Sanders.

If the Browns are already talking about a second window, the implication is clear: the first one did not include him.

Ownership, Headlines, and a Disturbing Narrative

Adding another layer to the story are claims circulating among insiders that owner Jimmy Haslam played a central role in elevating the Sanders storyline—not necessarily to build around him, but to generate relevance and attention for a struggling franchise.

According to these accounts, Haslam wanted Sanders to play because of the headlines it would create. The strategy worked. National media took notice. Viewership increased. The Browns became a talking point again.

But if true, the darker implication is this: Sanders may have been used as a marketing catalyst rather than groomed as a franchise quarterback.

If the coaching staff is now positioning itself to move on while ownership already reaped the publicity benefits, it raises uncomfortable ethical questions about player development versus organizational optics.

Why Mary Kay Cabot’s Words Carry Weight

Some fans are quick to dismiss Cabot’s reporting. That would be a mistake.

Within Cleveland media circles, she is widely regarded as the most connected reporter covering the Browns. When she speaks with specificity about internal thinking, it is often because that information is being intentionally disseminated.

In that sense, her radio appearance felt less like speculation and more like narrative framing. The Browns appear to be laying groundwork now so that if they draft a quarterback in the first round, they can point to this “evaluation period” as proof Sanders was given a chance.

The Fans See What the Organization Won’t Say

Despite the uncertainty surrounding his future, Sanders has earned strong support from fans—both locally and nationally. His resilience, leadership, and flashes of high-level play have resonated in a season otherwise defined by dysfunction.

That support, however, may not be enough to overcome an organization that seems determined to reset the position once again.

For Browns fans who have watched decades of quarterback instability, the parallels are painful. A young quarterback shows promise. The environment fails him. The organization pivots. The cycle repeats.

What the Final Three Games Really Represent

Publicly, the Browns will frame Sanders’ remaining starts as opportunities. Privately, many believe they are trials designed to confirm a predetermined outcome.

The standard he is being held to is not rookie growth. It is perfection under imperfect conditions.

And if he falls short, the organization will say it had no choice.

The Broader Cost of Moving On Too Soon

If the Browns decide to move on from Sanders, the decision will echo beyond the draft board. It will reinforce a league-wide skepticism about Cleveland’s ability to develop quarterbacks. It will raise concerns among future prospects about organizational patience and stability.

Most importantly, it risks discarding a talented young player before he has ever been placed in a functional system.

A Franchise at Another Crossroads

As the 2025 season fades out, the Browns once again find themselves at a familiar crossroads: rebuild around a young quarterback, or start over.

What makes this moment different is how quickly the conversation has shifted away from development toward replacement—and how openly that shift is now being discussed.

If Sanders is indeed being evaluated out rather than built up, the Browns may soon face a reckoning not just from fans, but from history.

Because if this ends the way many fear, Cleveland won’t just be moving on from Shedeur Sanders.

It will be admitting it never truly gave him a chance.