The Cleveland Browns made the most polarizing fifth-round pick in recent memory with their selection of University of Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders at No. 144 in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Shedeur's slide was covered by all sides of the media, as even mainstream outlets ran with stories concerning the projected first-round pick falling all the way to Day 3 of the draft. That talk largely died down in the aftermath of the draft as the media moved on to the next story to grab headlines.
Now, with Sanders in training camp and one of the veterans ahead of him on the depth chart, Kenny Pickett, already suffering an injury, the rookie is in the headlines again thanks to comments from Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.
Haslam Clearly Distancing Himself from Shedeur Sanders Before Career Begins
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam met with the media on Tuesday and discussed a wide range of topics, including the decision to select Sanders in the fifth round of the draft. For one reason or another, Haslam went out of his way to distance himself from the selection, going as far as to suggest that it was Andrew Berry's decision, not his.
#Browns Jimmy Haslam stresses that Shedeur Sanders was Andrew Berry’s pick, not his. pic.twitter.com/sD3yQYwSq8
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) July 29, 2025
"If you'd have told me... Friday night driving home, 'Y'all are going to pick Shedeur,' I would have said, 'That's not happening,'" Haslam said, via Sports Illustrated. "But we had a conversation early [Saturday] morning, and then we had a conversation later that day. I think we had the right people involved in the conversation. At the end of the day, that's Andrew Berry's call. Andrew made the call to pick Shedeur."
These comments from Haslam are strange for a couple of reasons. This just brings attention back to a topic that the football world had seemingly moved on from. Training camp has started; whatever Sanders does on the field is going to be what he is judged on from here on out. Shielding yourself from whatever may come from a fifth-round pick is just a perplexing stance to take.
Also, if Haslam was so gung-ho about selecting Sanders being a non-starter after Day 2 of the draft came to an end, then when exactly do draft decisions become Andrew Berry's call and not his?
Considering the public admission of guilt Haslam made at the league's owners meetings this past April regarding the franchise's decision to sign Deshaun Watson to a fully guaranteed contract, the Browns taking a quarterback in the fifth round doesn't seem like something that calls for statements like the one he made on Tuesday.