Jason Whitlock rips "usual suspects" for justifying Shedeur Sanders' "clownish behavior" after Browns QB decision

Sheduer Sanders grabbed headlines on Wednesday after a strange interaction with the media. The Cleveland Browns' third-string quarterback silently mouthed his answers while responding to questions about the team's decision to replace Joe Flacco with Dillon Gabriel as the starting quarterback.

Sanders' mime interview drew interesting reactions from fans. However, analyst Jason Whitlock slammed the rookie for his "clownish behavior."

"Shedeur Sanders, the gift that keeps giving, just keeps on giving," Whitlock said on his "Fearless" podcast on Thursday (1:00). "Shedeur, doing a little mime yesterday when asked about Dillon Gabriel being named the starter in Cleveland. And all the usual suspects are dressing it up and justifying Shedeur’s clownish behavior. But we're not going to do that here."

ESPN's Adam Schefter felt that Sanders' unique mime interview was a tongue-in-cheek response to former NFL coach Rex Ryan, who had been critical of the rookie QB.

“Well, essentially, the Browns made a quarterback change yesterday," Schefter said on "Get Up" on Thursday. "They went with Dillon Gabriel as their starter, Joe Flacco as second-string, and Shedeur Sanders remains third-string. So, when they asked Shedeur to speak about his reaction to the Browns’ quarterback moves, he spoke in mime.

“Now, what he was doing was responding to Rex Ryan, who on this show on Monday, essentially criticized Shedeur Sanders for a number of things, but basically said keep your mouth shut. That was Rex Ryan’s message on Monday to Shedeur Sanders. Shedeur Sanders decided to take the time yesterday, on the day the Browns made a quarterback change, to literally keep his mouth shut and to mime.”

Although Gabriel was named as Cleveland's starting QB, Flacco will serve as his backup. Sanders will continue as the Browns' QB3.

Shedeur Sanders' Cleveland Browns will face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5 of the 2025 season

NFL: Cleveland Browns QB Shedeur Sanders - Source: Imagn

The Browns (1-3) will face the Minnesota Vikings (2-2) in Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season on Sunday. The game will kick off at 9:30 a.m. ET from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, UK.

It will be interesting to see if Gabriel can turn the fortunes for the Browns when he gets the starting QB role. The Vikings, on the other hand, are coming off a 24-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4.