Cleveland Browns ‘constant clown show’ can give Shedeur Sanders runway to claim starting role

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This won’t be the last we hear of the quarterback conundrum in Northeast Ohio.Joe Flacco is the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns to begin the season, with rookies Dillon Gabriel serving as QB2 and Shedeur Sanders dressing on game days as the emergency third quarterback. Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced the quarterback depth chart two weeks before his team takes the field against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.Despite the spotlight and fanfare that Sanders has received since being drafted in the fifth round, he is last on the depth chart.To his credit, he did survive a quarterback room that at one point had not only Flacco and Gabriel, but also veterans Kenny Pickett and Tyler Huntley. Sanders outlasted the last two and will remain on Cleveland’s roster.That alone is a win; however, many believe this won’t be the last we hear of Sanders’ name as the season wears on.The reason? The dysfunction that is the Cleveland Browns franchise. “It is just the constant clown show that the Cleveland Browns have been for years,” talkSPORT’s Will Gavin said on talkSPORT USA’s YouTube channel.Gavin’s co-host, Brian Smith, added why Sanders may at one point see time as QB1 in Cleveland.“If Shedeur Sanders eventually becomes the starter for Cleveland, it will be for two reasons: he’s really good, and it ended up working out in his favor,” talkSPORT’s Brian Smith said on talkSPORT USA’s YouTube channel.Smith pointed to Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers as the perfect example. Purdy went from Mr. Irrelevant to starting a Super Bowl for San Francisco thanks to circumstances—and, as it turned out, he’s also a very capable quarterback.He then bluntly laid out Sanders’ situation in Cleveland and why it’s just as alarming as it seems and while Sanders may one day be QB1, today is not that day.Sanders will be QB3 when the season startsGettySanders had his opportunities during an up and down preseasonGetty“He went to the worst organization for him,” Smith said. “The fact that he fell to the fifth round and went to an organization that already had Deshaun Watson, that went all in on Deshaun Watson when nobody else wanted to do that…“They draft Dillon Gabriel early, you still have Joe Flacco. Most teams in the NFL wouldn’t have Joe Flacco as a starter. In Cleveland, he is the anointed starter…“Because Joe Flacco had four good games, they treat him like he is the god of Cleveland football. So, you have all these problems, all this drama, all the history. That is the worst team and the worst fan base he can go to.“And they want a savior, but he’s gonna have to prove it, Will. And he did not prove it in the preseason. His last preseason game was freaking horrible. He’s lucky he didn’t get cut.”Cleveland’s revolving door of self-inflicted issues could make way for Sanders to take the reins from Flacco and then Gabriel.That wouldn’t be surprising.NFL's Greatest......Ranking the top 10......Quarterbacks of all-time – Can anyone better Tom Brady?Wide receivers of all-time – Does Randy Moss or Jerry Rice come out on top?Running backs of all-time – Stacking Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and moreTight ends of all-time – How does Travis Kelce compare?If Sanders were the starting quarterback for the Browns in November, not many would bat an eye. Is he ready right now? Of course not, the preseason proved that.As Smith mentioned, he was awful in the preseason finale. But then again, he is also a fifth round rookie. Things take time.And because of the mess that the Browns usually are, Sanders will get that time to work in the shadows, with his head down, as Cleveland trots out a 40-year-old Flacco, who will assuredly give way to Gabriel sometime this season.Who knows, maybe Gabriel ends up being that guy and takes the job and runs with it. Given Cleveland’s history, that’s unlikely.Only then, will it finally be time for Sanders. From there, anything can happen.