Cleveland cut former Pro Bowl quarterback Tyler Huntley Sunday, an NFL journeyman who stood fifth on the depth chart, part of 17 roster cuts ahead of the Tuesday deadline to get down to the 53-man limit.
Huntley led a field goal drive in the fourth quarter to get the Browns a 19-17 win over the Rams on Saturday. In the team's 3-0 exhibition run he was 17-22 passing for 129 yards with one touchdown without an interception.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has already named Joe Flacco the Week One starter for the opener against Cincinnati on September 7. Five quarterbacks remain on the roster ahead of Tuesday, Flacco, backup Kenny Pickett who's battling a groin injury, third-round pick and former Duck Dillon Gabriel and fifth-round selection Shedeur Sanders. Deshaun Watson is out for the year while recovering from an Achilles injury, a $256 million albatross for the franchise.
Controversy follows the fifth-round draft pick.
Tyler Huntley came right in and lead those same group of players right down the field, and Shedeur was also playing against guys who are also going to get cut. https://t.co/BPrYNDVKAn
— Colb (@___Colb___) August 24, 2025
A cadre of Browns fans, pundits and former players insist that the beleaguered franchise (40 starting quarterbacks since 1999) is mishandling or even sabotaging Sanders in his bid to become an NFL starter.
Saturday the rookie from Colorado and son of an NFL Hall of Famer was badly outplayed by fellow rookie and Oregon Duck Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel played in the second quarter and led an 11-play, 86-yard drive in the two-minute drill, throwing his first pro touchdown pass.
Sanders entered the game in the fourth and struggled horrendously, sacked five times, 3-6 passing for 14 yards. Sanders supporters/apologists made much of the fact that four of the linemen in the game when the former Buff took the field were cut by the team a day later:
• Tackle Sebastian Gutierrez
• Center Bucky Williams
• Guard Javion Cohen
• Guard Dartanyan Tinsley
Yet Huntley took over with the same group later in the fourth and won the game with the field goal drive, and he was the one who was cut.
In 2024, 15 of the 32 starting NFL quarterbacks were black, including Super Bowl winner Jalen Hurts, three-time Super Bowl winner and two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, and NFL Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels.
Doug Williams became the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl in 1988.
The brewing tempest in the Cleveland teapot prompted former Duck and NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz to post a sarcastic blast on X.
I remember being a young offensive lineman fighting for a job. My OL coach came up to me and said "Hey Schwartz you need to block worse when Smith is playing quarterback so he looks bad" ... totally normal conspiracy that happens all the time https://t.co/vUYv1OwAHb
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) August 24, 2025
The NFL cares about two things: winning and making money. Sanders fifth-string status has everything to do with his pocket awareness and performance, and little to do with his race. He hasn't played well, despite a strong debut in Charlotte on August 8th.
Within an organization, even an organization as badly-run as the Browns, it helps if the backup is a team-oriented guy who doesn't draw controversy. The job is to hold a clipboard, attend meetings and wait. Sulking, speed through 40 mile-an-hour traffic zones and being a media lightning rod create distractions. NFL coaches despise distractions.
So far the Browns have indicated that they're keeping all four of the active quarterbacks entering the season. If Sanders has NFL talent, he'll get his chance to prove his detractors wrong down the road.