The Cleveland Browns’ 2025 rookie class has high expectations, and many are expecting this exciting class to produce a number of foundational pillars for the franchise for years to come.
A certain fifth-round rookie quarterback has come to town with far higher expectations and hype than any fifth-round pick ever should, and Colin Cowherd recently praised Browns general manager Andrew Berry after calling his rookie out.
Berry recently called out Shedeur Sanders for having a “not smart” offseason, which Cowherd commended him for.
“Andrew Berry said what Shedeur Sanders did, getting two speeding tickets, as a fifth-round draft pick, as a quarterback, was dumb. He’s a fifth-round pick. They haven’t invested anything in him. They can show the door tomorrow. He’s a quarterback—the standard’s higher. 34% of American men have been arrested. I’m gonna hold my quarterback to a little higher standard than the general public. Speeding ticket becomes not knowing the formation on Sunday. Quarterbacks are supposed to put out fires, not start them. I just appreciate a general manager going to a podium and not pandering, just call it out—not good enough,” Cowherd said.
“I’m gonna hold my quarterback to a little higher standard than the general public.”@colincowherd reacts to the Cleveland Browns GM calling out Shedeur Sanders’ speeding issues pic.twitter.com/XE92CojUHK
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 25, 2025
The media and many fans have struggled tirelessly with accepting the fact that Sanders wasn’t the top-10 pick he was projected to be, and even after getting a pair of speeding tickets, it did nothing to alter his perception, and most conversations around his immediate football career irrationally paint him as a Week 1 starter and a franchise savior.
The speeding tickets weren’t a massive issue, but they aren’t the non-issue they have been made out to be.
Sanders has checked a lot of boxes since coming to Cleveland, most notably with his performance on the field and how involved he has gotten in the community already, but he needs to make better decisions, and the front office is justified in calling him out for it.
The Browns are doing the right thing by not rushing Sanders to start right away or by putting too much pressure on him.
He is being given his time to sit and develop, and if he can earn his way into the starting lineup sometime this season, it would help the Browns figure out if they need to draft a quarterback in 2026.
Hopefully, the off-field incidents are a thing of the past, and Sanders can keep building equity within the organization.
NEXT:
Browns Legend Made An Appearance At Training Camp
