Browns decline $22,117,000 fifth-year option on Kenny Pickett after signing Shedeur Sanders in 2025 NFL draft: Report

After all the drama, Shedeur Sanders may be part of the Cleveland Browns' main plans. When the Browns drafted Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, many assumed the franchise would go with Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback for Week 1, with Gabriel as backup.

The Browns picked Shedeur Sanders as the 144th pick in the fifth round, and many fans and analysts were confused about how the Colorado star would get any game time in that stacked QB room.

The Browns' quarterback depth chart currently includes five quarterbacks, including DeShaun Watson, who's suffering from an Achilles tear and is expected to miss the first few weeks of the 2025 season.

On April 28, 2025, it was reported that the Browns won't pick Kenny Pickett for the fifth year, worth $22.117 million.

Kenny Pickett will only make $2.623 million this year, entering his final year of the rookie contract. Hours before the news, in a conversation with Pro Football Talk, NFL analyst Mike Florio said:

“I would assume that Pickett is gonna be out,” he said. “He gets re-traded, something, anything to clear him off the roster before Week 1. And then, they will have three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. They have to have three, ’cause if they were to release Gabriel or Sanders, any team could claim that guy on waivers.

“So they’ll keep Pickett (for) as long as they can. Maybe they’ll trade him, sooner than later, and find a camp arm.”

3x Super Bowl champ expresses uncertainty over Shedeur Sanders' future in the league

Analyst Mark Schlereth compared Shedeur Sanders' abilities to Coach Prime in a segment on today's "Fox Sports Breakfast Ball" show. His conclusion wasn't favorable to Shedeur.

"I think the big thing for me was from the talent perspective, he’s not a generational talent, like his father was a generational talent,” Schlereth said.

“Okay, so if you’re not a generational talent, you better, and I mean, you better ace the other parts, the intangible parts of the process, and by all accounts, and we heard the reports he did not ace the intangible aspect of it, the interview, the talking football, then we get into the arrogance, or the perceived arrogance, or the reported entitlement,” Schlereth added.

Shedeur Sanders was the most polarizing prospect in the 2025 NFL draft, who slid out of the first four rounds, despite being projected to be a first-round pick during the 2024 college football season.