Shedeur Sanders and the Browns receive a major blow ahead of the NFL season
The Browns Are Facing a Bleak Outlook
It’s clear why the Cleveland Browns continue to be one of the biggest jokes in the NFL. After a few positive years with Kevin Stefanski, Baker Mayfield and even Joe Flacco, the team has fallen back into a deep crisis. Those good moments were short-lived, and Cleveland once again appears to be far from being a competitive team.
Todd Monken surprised many by naming Deshaun Watson the starting quarterback, but his performance has been terrible. Shedeur Sanders will serve as the backup, while Dillon Gabriel impressed in the Browns’ final preseason game against the New England Patriots , throwing three touchdown passes. His performance could even attract interest from other teams and potentially lead to a trade before the start of the season.
The Cleveland Browns are no longer attractive to watch
ESPN analyst Ben Solak ranked the Cleveland Browns as the least appealing team to watch in the entire NFL for the second consecutive year. The analyst believes Cleveland has lost many of the elements that made the team interesting during the previous season.
One of those factors was Shedeur Sanders , whose first start in Week 12 of the 2025 season generated plenty of excitement and ended with a 24-10 victory over the Raiders . However, that element of surprise is now gone, and to make matters worse, Sanders will not be Cleveland’s starting quarterback to begin the 2026 season, as Deshaun Watson was named QB1.
The other major attraction was Myles Garrett , who was chasing the NFL single-season sack record in spectacular fashion. However, the star defensive player is no longer with the Browns after leaving Cleveland for the Los Angeles Rams.
The reality is that the Cleveland Browns are once again projected to have a difficult season. Of course, things can always change once the games begin, but it looks extremely difficult for Cleveland to compete in such a tough division, especially with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals also in the AFC North.
A Difficult Start to the Season for the Cleveland Browns
To make matters worse, the Browns will open the season with two difficult games against teams projected to compete for a playoff spot. Cleveland will play both games on the road, first against the Jacksonville Jaguars and then against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That means the Browns will face a major test right from the start, and their opening games could quickly reveal whether this team is truly ready to compete.
