The Browns’ O-Line Exodus: A Historic Collapse That Could Sink Shedeur Sanders

Look, I’ve covered this league long enough to know when something smells off. But what’s happening in Cleveland? That’s not just off—it’s historically unprecedented, and frankly, it’s borderline negligent.

Let me paint you the picture: The Cleveland Browns are about to make NFL history, and not the kind you want plastered on your stadium walls. For the first time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger—that’s 56 years for those keeping score at home—an NFL franchise is set to lose its entire starting offensive line to free agency in a single offseason.

Every. Single. Starter.

Left tackle Cam Robinson? Gone. Left guard Joel Bitonio? Deciding between retirement and free agency. Center Ethan Pocic? Hit the bricks. Right guard Wyatt Teller? Already posted his emotional goodbye on Instagram. Right tackle Jack Conklin? Out the door.

And here’s the kicker that should have Browns fans reaching for the antacids: Shedeur Sanders, their Pro Bowl rookie quarterback, is about to inherit this mess.

When Dysfunction Becomes a Trademark

I’m not one to pile on Cleveland—Lord knows they’ve suffered enough—but this situation reeks of organizational dysfunction. You don’t accidentally lose five starters at once. That takes a special kind of mismanagement.

Wyatt Teller’s farewell message hit different. “Cleveland, I wish things were different,” he wrote. Translation? The front office dropped the ball. Teller isn’t just any guard—he’s a three-time Pro Bowler, a two-time second-team All-Pro, and the kind of pancake-blocking machine that makes offensive coordinators weep tears of joy.

And now he’s someone else’s problem because Andrew Berry and company couldn’t figure out how to keep their house in order.

The Sanders Dilemma

Here’s where it gets personal for me. I watched Sanders light up the Pro Bowl after posting pedestrian numbers (1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions in seven starts). The kid’s got talent, but talent alone doesn’t survive when you’re running for your life every Sunday.

Sanders himself commented on Teller’s Instagram post: “:( gonna miss you bro.” That’s the sound of a young quarterback realizing his protection just walked out the door. It’s also the sound of a franchise that’s more interested in making headlines than winning football games.

The Rebuild or the Disaster?

General manager Andrew Berry has two first-round picks and roughly $80 million in cap space. Sounds great on paper, right? But here’s the harsh reality: You can’t rebuild an entire offensive line in one offseason without somebody getting hurt.

The smart money says Cleveland targets Green Bay’s Rasheed Walker in free agency—projected market value of $20.3 million annually. That’s top-dollar for a left tackle, but when your current starter (Robinson) ranks among the league’s worst blindside protectors, you pay up or watch your quarterback collect turf burns.

Then there’s Ed Ingram from the Vikings. PFF’s No. 18 guard last season could be had for around $13 million per year. That’s actually reasonable in today’s inflated market, and it would give Sanders at least one competent interior blocker.

But even if Berry nails both signings and uses those first-rounders on tackles (Utah’s Spencer Fano and Georgia’s Monroe Freeling are the consensus top prospects), you’re still asking a rookie QB to operate behind a line with zero chemistry. That’s not a recipe for success—it’s a recipe for disaster.

The Historical Context Nobody’s Talking About

Want to know why this hasn’t happened in 56 years? Because competent front offices don’t let it happen. They stagger contracts. They extend key players before they hit free agency. They plan ahead instead of reacting in panic mode.

The 2020-2024 Browns offensive line was legitimately elite. It kept Deshaun Watson upright (for all the good that did), and it gave Nick Chubb running lanes you could drive a semi through. How do you go from that to complete implosion in one offseason?

The answer is simple: Poor planning, bad timing, and a front office that’s more concerned with saving face than building a winner.

The Monken Factor

New head coach Todd Monken inherited this mess, and frankly, I don’t envy him. He’s got a talented young quarterback, a dominant defense led by Myles Garrett, and an offensive line that exists only in theory.

Monken tried to draft Sanders in Baltimore last year and came up empty. Now he’s got him, but under circumstances that would make any offensive-minded coach lose sleep. You can scheme all you want, but when your quarterback has a clean pocket for 1.2 seconds, even Andy Reid looks like an amateur.

What Should Happen (But Probably Won’t)

If I’m running the Browns, here’s the game plan: Throw stupid money at Walker and Ingram. Yes, you’ll overpay. Yes, other GMs will laugh at you. But you know what’s worse than overpaying? Watching Sanders spend his sophomore season face-down in the turf.

Use that No. 6 pick on Fano if he’s available. He’s the real deal—a plug-and-play left tackle who can start Day 1. Then go back to the well at No. 24 and grab Freeling or the best available interior lineman.

Round out the draft with mid-round fliers on guards and centers. Sign a veteran backup tackle who knows the playbook. And for the love of football, bring in an offensive line coach who can build cohesion faster than a speed dating event.

The Unfortunate Reality

But here’s what’ll probably happen: Cleveland will lowball Walker, lose him to a better-run organization, and convince themselves that Dawand Jones—who’s missed time with injuries in both of his NFL seasons—can handle left tackle duties.

They’ll draft two offensive linemen in the first round, which sounds great until you realize you’re asking rookies to protect your franchise quarterback while learning on the job.

And somewhere around Week 5, when Sanders is eating dirt for the third time in a quarter, Browns fans will look at each other and ask the same question they’ve been asking for 30 years: “How did we get here?”

The Bottom Line

The Browns aren’t just making history—they’re writing a cautionary tale about what happens when organizational incompetence meets bad timing. You can blame injuries. You can blame the salary cap. You can blame Mercury being in retrograde if it makes you feel better.

But at the end of the day, this is a failure of planning, a failure of execution, and a failure to protect the one asset that matters most: your young quarterback’s future.

Shedeur Sanders deserves better. Browns fans deserve better. And frankly, Todd Monken deserves a bottle of something strong and a very long vacation.

Because come September, he’s going to need both.