We all saw it.
In three weeks of play, Shedeur Sanders has dramatically outplayed Dillon Gabriel. Who couldn’t have seen this coming? You drafted a quarterback to play in the wind tunnel of Cleveland, OH, who measures in at a generous 5’11” and 205 lbs? You neglected to draft the bigger, stronger, superior athlete—a man with a resumé consistent with franchise greatness—for a guy built like a slot receiver.
We all saw it.
During his first preseason game, Shedeur was wheeling and dealing. He went 14/23 for 138 yards and 2 TDs, a clear over-performance for a 5th-round pick everyone tried to write off. Mind you, bro was hitting check-downs, stop routes, screens, and slants with surgical precision. He was even turning on the jets, rushing for a first down early to show he could move the chains with his legs. To be fair, he wasn’t carving up the ‘85 Bears, but he was playing with guys who will be selling insurance in three weeks, and he still looked superior. Ultimately, this game showcased his passing prowess with a certified DIME, in the middle of traffic, to Kadon Davis to take the lead.
Contrast this with the clear evidence of sabotage in the very next game. On August 23, 2025, Kevin Stefanski sent that man out to die behind four offensive linemen who were third and fourth-stringers, matched up against starters and key rotation players from the LA Rams. Shedeur had zero time to breathe, let alone pass, going 3/6 for 14 yards and suffering 5 sacks.
Why did Stefanski do this? Because the narrative had to be protected. He wanted Dillon Gabriel to start, despite the obvious physical shortcomings, so he handed Gabriel the keys to the Ferrari (starters and first-team O-Line) while Shedeur got the lemon. To the casual, non-thinking observer, the box score lies: “Huh, Gabriel went 12 of 19 for 129 yards and 1 TD, absent any picks, while Shedeur posted a horrific line.” It gave Kevin Stefanski exactly what he wanted: plausible deniability. He could stand at the podium, look the media in the face, and lie: “Dillon is the starter because he played better.”
We all saw it.
Lo and behold, Gabriel gets injured after a truly abysmal performance through his first six starts. Imagine that: a tiny, 205-pound quarterback getting crushed in the most physical division in the sport. Who could’ve possibly predicted that physics would win? There is a reason Franchise QBs in the AFC North are built like linebackers. Lamar is 6’2” 220 lbs. Joey B is 6’4” 220 lbs. Even old man A-Rod is 6’2” 220 lbs. These guys have the frame to absorb the punishment and the arm talent to cut through the Lake Erie wind.
Kevin Stefanski is incompetent and needs to be fired.
Often, the best pros don’t come from the blue-blood programs. We see this constantly. Josh Allen came from Wyoming. Patrick Mahomes came from Texas Tech. Lamar came from Louisville. The exception is Joe Burrow, but look at the context: In 2019, he beat more Top 10 teams than anyone in history.
The lesson is simple: If you recruit a guy from a powerhouse, he needs to have a truly astonishing performance to prove he isn’t just a product of his environment. Take Dillon Gabriel. In his final year at Oregon, 76% of his roster were blue-chip 4 or 5-star recruits. That percentage is a proxy for talent advantage. The 2019 LSU team Burrow played on? 64%. At Colorado, Shedeur was working with a comparably low 40% of blue-chip prospects.
Essentially, it boils down to this: Was Dillon Gabriel “good” in college because he was a future NFL franchise QB, or was he good because his roster was a Ferrari racing against Honda Civics? It’s certainly not the former. This is the critical analysis Kevin Stefanski and the Browns’ brass failed to make. They couldn’t distinguish between a bus driver and an engine.
Now, look at God work. Kevin Stefanski is done. If he loses, he’s incompetent for going 3-14 with a roster ready to win now. If he wins, he’s getting fired because he wasted half the season starting Dillon Gabriel and Joe Flacco over Shedeur Sanders. And me? I got my popcorn ready, because I’m going to relish the day his sorry, no-good ass gets walked out of the building.
Kevin Stefanski has proven he cannot identify, develop, or utilize Franchise-level quarterback play. He had Baker Mayfield and won a playoff game—the first in decades. Rather than build on that, he let him walk. Now Baker is in Tampa balling out of control. He had Deshaun Watson, a borderline MVP candidate in Houston, and couldn’t make it work. And now, he has demonstrated tremendous incompetence by burying Shedeur Sanders on the depth chart. Five years in Cleveland. A losing record. No division titles. One playoff win. The verdict is in: Kevin Stefanski is incompetent and needs to be fired.
But let’s be real about the core reason this happened. It isn’t just stats; it’s culture. Shedeur is too authentically Black for Kevin Stefanski’s taste. He didn’t like the bravado. He didn’t like the A U R A. He didn’t like the wrist in the air. He wanted a quiet, corporate soldier, not a field general with swagger. Rather than evaluate the talent objectively, he let his feelings dictate the roster. And ultimately, that bias is going to cost him his job.
As it should.
