Kevin Stefanski is facing a lot of backlash for how he played Shedeur Sanders in the Cleveland Browns’ final preseason game this past weekend. The Browns’ head coach was criticized for not letting the former Colorado quarterback come in for a potential game-winning drive in the final two minutes of their game against the Los Angeles Rams. Sanders saw limited game action, going 3/6 for 14 yards in a game he’d hoped he could impress his coach.Not starting Shedeur Sanders was a baffling decision in the eyes of former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.“Why does (Joe) Flacco start the game?” Houshmandzadeh questioned at 0:35.“If you’re trying to figure out who you’re going to play in case Flacco gets hurt, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur (Sanders), you let them split the game… you let them battle it out,”Houshmandzadeh continued at 0:42.There’s a belief that most of the players who were on the field with Sanders during his limited action against the Rams won’t make the Browns’ final roster.“You didn’t give this man a fighting chance to compete; he went into a gun fight with two knives. You’re gonna lose that every time,” Houshmandzadeh concluded at 1:08.In their game Saturday, the Browns went three and out on four of the five series’ with Sanders behind centre. The 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner missed some time in the preseason previously because of an oblique injury sustained on August 13.Stefanski already named Joe Flacco the starter ahead of the regular season, though the backup job is seemingly still up for grabs. Stefanski defended his decisions Saturday.“We just felt that if we could get him some action in that last game, we were going to do that. He’s done a really nice job for us over the last few weeks and just put him out there.”Sanders is unlikely to be named one of the players on the 53-man roster before opening day with Joe Flacco already #1, while Kenny Pickett is expected to be backup and Dillon Gabriel, who was picked ahead of Sanders in the 2025 draft might get the #3 spot at QB.Sanders is being treated “like a fifth-round pick”There’s been a widespread notion that Stefanski hasn’t utilized Sanders as much in training camp and preseason to sabotage his chances of putting on a strong showing. He’s rarely gotten first-team reps in practice and didn’t play a lot in preseason. NFL analyst Ryan Clark, however, doesn’t believe there’s any sort of conspiracy going on.“What it is that they’re doing is they’re treating Shedeur Sanders like a fifth-round pick,” Ryan Clark said.“They felt like they evaluated him there, and that’s where they picked him. They’re playing the guy that they picked in the third round over him because they evaluate him at a higher level than what they do Shedeur Sanders.”Cleveland will open the regular season on Sunday by facing the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field.