BEREA, Ohio -- Blame him for plenty, but Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said he's not directly responsible for a recent high-profile draft pick.
While his influence is undeniable, Haslam said Tuesday that he didn't force general manager Andrew Berry to take rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders in April.
Cleveland, which has been in a never-ending search for a franchise QB, selected Sanders in the fifth round - two rounds after taking Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel. The surprising choice -- Sanders had been expected to go as high as No. 2 overall and the Browns passed on him six times - fueled speculation that Haslam, known for a hands-on approach during his tenure and captured on camera sitting in the draft room on Day 3 when the pick was announced, had orchestrated the move.
Not true, Haslam said.
"Listen. We have good process," Haslam said as he and wife, Dee, held their annual training camp media briefing. "If you'd have told me Friday night (Day 2) driving home, y'all are going to pick Shedeur, I would have said, 'That's not happening.' But, we had a conversation early that morning and 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."
The additions of Sanders and Gabriel along with the acquisition of Kenny Pickett and re-signing of free agent Joe Flacco has created a four-man QB competition this summer. That's a rarity in the NFL but almost par for the course for the Browns, who are coming off a 3-14 season.
The Haslams' tenure since 2012 has been awash with losing, off-field issues and controversies, most notably the signing of quarterback Deshaun Watson to a record-setting contract. Because of injuries, and Watson's league suspension in 2022, that deal has set the franchise back for years, leading to the team's current QB uncertainty.
Haslam poked fun of himself when asked what he's learned as an owner.
"It doesn't look like very much," he quipped.
So far, Haslam has been pleased with what he's seen in Sanders, the former Colorado standout who began camp fourth on the depth chart, and Gabriel.
"I'll say this, for the two quarterbacks coming in, and I know everybody has a vision of Shedeur," Haslam said. "But he's come in the building, worked hard, kept his head down and done what he's supposed to do as has Dillon, which is no surprise for either of them."
The recent arrest of rookie running back Quinshon Judkins in Florida has brought added scrutiny to the Browns.
Judkins is the third Cleveland player arrested in the past year on domestic violence charges and the Haslams acknowledged the team needs to do more.
"It's extremely frustrating," Jimmy Haslam said. "Obviously we're not communicating as well as we should and we take responsibility for that. We have internal resources. We have external resources. We talk about it continually and it's something that we need to do a better job on. But it is frustrating."
Judkins, a second-round pick out of Ohio State, remains unsigned and away from the team while dealing with his legal issues. Haslam said he's "cautiously optimistic" that Judkins will sign and play at some point. He also faces league discipline.
Copyright 2025 by The Associated Press
