Former Pro Bowler calls for Browns fans to boycott until Shedeur Sanders starts

As the Cleveland Browns race towards a high pick in the 2026 NFL Draft -- one that potentially could be invested in a quarterback --, third-round rookie gets to keep the starting job despite some notoriously poor performances.

With head coach Kevin Stefanski doubling down on his “Supercomputer” while avoiding to express any minimal sliver of hope of seeing Shedeur Sanders anytime soon, it’s hard to think of a scenario where the Browns’ head coach changes his mind and decides to sit Gabriel in the near future.

Aqib Talib has a suggestion, though. The former NFL cornerback called for fans hitting the team where it could hurt most: their pockets.

Aqib thinks Browns fans should boycott the team until they play Shedeur Sanders pic.twitter.com/kqO6mYoyBN
— The Arena: Gridiron (@ArenaGridiron) November 13, 2025

“I think the Cleveland fan base should just boycott at this point, man,” said the five-time Pro Bowler on The Arena: Gridiron show he co-hosts. “We ain’t buying no tickets.

“Boycott the whole sh**. Say ‘We ain’t coming unless Shedeur in, The game would be blacked out locally. Man, sometimes you gotta force your hand.

“Cleveland Browns fans, force your f****** hand man.”

That certainly would be a way to catch the attention of the whole organization, even if the decision to keep Gabriel in and Sanders out would fall on the head coach’s shoulders.

When asked by former NFL head coach Jay Gruden -- another one of the show’s co-hosts -- what his expectations would be for the team if Sanders were to start, Talib responded, “I don’t know. But what we do know, our quarterback is not gonna look like a little scared little baby. That’s what Gabriel looks like right now. I guarantee you, it don’t look like that.

“What’s the worst thing that can happen? It looks the same?

“Our realistic expectations is we see everything we got on our roster so we know if we need to draft a quarterback in the first round or not. You might have one in the building right now. We gave [Gabriel] 5-6 games. Let’s give [Sanders 5-6 games] and find out. If he’s not the guy, you’re a fifth round pick. We don’t owe you s***. You can be gone.”

Frankly, it’s getting harder and harder to visualize Stefanski turning on Gabriel at this point of the season, despite some apparent signs of regression, when he’s seemingly having a hard time just naming Sanders as the backup. If performances like Gabriel’s last two for the Browns -- road losses against the Patriots and Jets -- haven’t made Stefanski flinch regarding his choice for the job, then what will?

And, if Stefanski isn’t feeling desperate enough in terms of job security, there might not be any incentive to risk winning a couple of meaningless games down the road that could jeopardize Cleveland’s chances of landing a top prospect in next year’s draft.

Nonetheless, Talib’s call to action could already be happening in an informal kind of manner, with home ticket prices plummeting all the way down to comical amounts.