Much of the talk over the summer off-season was about the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback situation.Now edging closer to Week 3 and the conversations have yet to subside, in fact, they are ramping up even more.The Browns’ quarterback conundrum continues into the 2025 NFL seasonGettyThis comes after the Browns find themselves in an early 0-2 hole after narrowly losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season before being entirely blown out by Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2. On both occasions, veteran Joe Flacco was at the helm under center after winning the starting spot ahead of rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. So far, though, he has looked every bit of his 40-year-old age. Through his first two outings of the season, Flacco has already attempted 90 passes, completing 56 of them for 489 total yards and giving him a pass completion percentage of 62.2 percent. However, he has only thrown two touchdowns to three interceptions. But leading into the AFC North heavyweight battle with the Ravens, it was revealed that the Flock had the intention of drafting Sanders with their fifth-round pick after the son of NFL legend Deion suffered an all-time slide out of the first round. However, it was revealed that Sanders rejected the chance to sit behind Jackson as the Ravens’ backup quarterback, instead drafting former Alabama A&M offensive tackle Carson Vinson with the 141st overall pick, three picks before Sanders was eventually taken by the Browns. “A consensus had been headed. The Baltimore Ravens were planning to select Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round with the 141st overall selection,” wrote NFL insider Adam Schefter. “But, when he found out, he got word back to the Ravens that he preferred not to go to a place where he’d be competing and backing up Lamar Jackson. He wanted to be in a place that he could play.Following the Browns’ brutal 41-17 loss, Sanders was asked about the report coming out from ESPN about him snubbing the chance to play for a winning team in Baltimore. Sanders reportedly turned down the opportunity to be drafted by the Ravens in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL DraftGetty“My response is I’m focused on the now,” he told Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. “I don’t really talk about anything in the past and whatever happened in the past, it is what it is. “I’m more focused on now. I’m more focused on how this game that we just gone and had and figuring out how to move forward from now.”When asked whether the report was true, the 22-year-old deflected, suggesting his memory doesn’t allow him to remember things from that far back (five months).“You wouldn’t even believe, my memory don’t even go back that far,” he continued. “So yeah, I don’t even remember anything post-draft. I remember I’m here, I go to practice every day and it’s a 24 hour rule. … It serves no purpose in my life.”This decision was slammed by former NFL quarterback Alex Smith, who called the reports ‘insane’ and ‘short-sighted’ if true. Shedeur didn’t want to be drafted by the Ravens as he couldn’t challenge Jackson for the starting roleGettySanders is now playing third fiddle to Flacco and fellow rookie GabrielGettyShould Joe Flacco be benched by the Browns? With Flacco looking lifeless at times on the field of M&T Bank Stadium – his former home when he was the franchise signal caller for the team, leading them to Super Bowl glory in 2013 – and the game unsalvageable, head coach Kevin Stefanski gave his rookie quarterback a go out on the field for his official NFL debut. But it wasn’t Sanders who got some reps, it was Gabriel, albeit very briefly. The former Oregon star completed all three of his pass attempts for 19 yards and a touchdown, which is impressive considering the limited number of reps he took against a fairly stout Ravens defense. As such, this has talkSPORT’s Brian T. Smith calling for the Browns to drop the ‘horrible’ Flacco in favor of Gabriel, at least for now. “Joe Flacco looks older than Aaron Rodgers right now, and looks like he should not be starting in the NFL,” he said on talkSPORT’s The NFL Show. “The fact that out of all of the teams in the NFL that the Cleveland Browns convinced themselves that they would have Joe Flacco this year when you have Deshaun Watson, Dillon Gabriel and, oh yeah, some guy named Shedeur Sanders, that you’re going to go with Joe Flacco.Some are calling for Flacco to be benched alreadyGetty“He was horrible in Week 2, and it ain’t getting better. If I’m the Cleveland Browns, I’m calling it right now, Dillon Gabriel came in and what does he do? Throw a touchdown. That is your future. “At some point, Shedeur Sanders might be your future, although Sanders apparently thinks he’s too good for the Baltimore Ravens.“He could have actually played on a good team, but he was too cool and had too much swagger for that. “I’m benching Joe Flacco right now. I wouldn’t have started him and would have had a different answer than that.“He is too old, he is too slow, and he was throwing interceptions that you cannot throw when you are immobile at 40-years-old.”Heading into the 2025 regular season, there were talks that Browns fans were still filled with ‘Flacco Fever’, but with the Dawg Pound sitting bottom of the AFC North, and just one of six teams who have yet to put a win on the board, these feelings could dissipate very quickly. Tough Opening SlateThe Browns' first six games of 2025 are extremely difficultWeek 1 – vs Cincinnati Bengals (16-17 L)Week 2 – @ Baltimore Ravens (41-17 L)Week 3 – vs. Green Bay PackersWeek 4 – @ Detroit LionsWeek 5 – vs. Minnesota VikingsWeek 6 – @ Pittsburgh SteelersAs such, perhaps Sanders will get his chance to show what he can do on offense at some point this season after all, though he will have to continue to battle with Gabriel to earn that opportunity first. Otherwise, he may live to regret his decision to forgo being drafted by Baltimore and having the opportunity to learn under a perennial MVP candidate in Jackson and a winning team in Baltimore under John Harbaugh.Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more.