Shedeur Sanders Held Out Of Practice With Oblique Injury And, Yes, The Browns Are Cursed

This training camp was going along more or less too smoothly for the Cleveland Browns, wasn't it? Yes, there were hiccups and guys need to drive slower, yet nothing apocalyptic. But the Browns are cursed, so here we are.

The news out of Browns camp this morning was that coach Kevin Stefanski had plenty of options at quarterback even as the team was managing hamstring injuries to Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett. The team has Shedeur Sanders, and he could start on Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles if the other two couldn't.

Cleveland radio host Ken Carman unloaded a rant about Shedeur Sanders as the QB fights to make the Browns. Will Sanders make the active roster? (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Shedeur Sanders Injures Oblique

About an hour after Stefanski spoke with reporters about this, Sanders got injured in practice.

The club is saying he has an oblique injury and that's the reason he didn't get any repetitions in practice after throwing on the side early in the session. He was eventually driven off the field on a cart by Eagles QB Jalen Hurts after the practice was over.

The team later added that Sanders will not practice on Thursday and will not play in Saturday's preseason game.

So the plan more likely shifts to starting Dillon Gabriel , who is trying to come back from a pulled hamstring without further drama…

…Just like the plan to let Kenny Pickett compete for the starting job, except he can't because he, too, has missed practice time with a hamstring injury and isn't even working into full team drills yet.

Browns Have Litany Of QB Disappointments

Browns fans should be used to this sort of poo.

Browns fans got their hopes up for Sanders after he played well in the preseason opener.

But those are the same fans who got their hopes up for Deshaun Watson when he signed a fully guaranteed $230 million in 2022, and he's rewarded them with 19 games in three seasons in which the team has a 9-10 record when Watson starts.

(Watson's playing days with the Browns, by the way, are all but over.)

Back to Browns fans …

They got their hopes up when Baker Mayfield was drafted No. 1 overall. But then he played kind of unevenly and the Browns got rid of him, suggesting he was another quarterback bust.

Baker Mayfield From Bust To Star (Elsewhere)

Except he isn't. Witness his 69 touchdown passes for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the past two seasons. Browns quarterbacks have 43 touchdown passes in the same time – combined.

More?

Browns fans recall the Johnny Maziel disaster.

The Tim Couch bust.

And the failed experiments with Robert Griffin III, Jameis Winston, Brandon Weeden, Colt McCoy, and others.

None worked out.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) throws as quarterback Joe Flacco (15) looks on during NFL training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.

Joe Flacco Is Best Hope?

Sanders, for one fleeting moment last week, brought hope that a change of fortune might be on the way. At least his performance didn't guarantee more disaster.

There is no concrete news on the seriousness of Sanders' oblique injury. It's too early for that as the team tries to learn more.

Mild oblique strains can take between 1-3 weeks to fully recover. 

Moderate or Grade 2 strains can take between 3-6 weeks.

The Browns have 40-year-old Joe Flacco readying to start the regular-season-opener, but remember, the Browns are cursed.

So what could possibly go wrong next?