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PFT PM Mailbag: NFL retirement, options for Allen

Mike Florio opens up the PFT mailbag to discuss topics ranging from the early retirement of several NFL players to the possibilities for Keenan Allen to keep playing this season.

2024 Season Overview

Next GameNext Game
Next OpponentNext Opponent
Standing (Division)Division Rank	4th AFC North
WinsWins	3
LossesLosses	14
DrawsDraws	0
PPGPoints per Game	15.2
OPPGOpponent Points per Game	25.6
Head CoachHead Coach	Kevin Stefanski

08:39

Sanders’ speeding ticket shows ‘lack of awareness’

05:35

Sanders caught speeding, needs to ‘show maturity’

Video emerges of most recent Shedeur Sanders traffic stop

Mike Florio,

Mike Florio,

Shedeur Sanders: “I made some wrong choices personally”

Mike Florio,

Mike Florio,

Shedeur Sanders has two speeding tickets this month

Mike Florio,

Mike Florio,

Arlington Renegades v San Antonio Brahmas

Browns sign TE Sal Cannella, waive TE Tre’ McKitty

Myles Simmons,

Myles Simmons,

Rotoworld Player News

Sal Cannella

CLE Tight End

2dBrowns signed TE Sal Cannella.

In each of the last two UFL seasons, Cannella has finished top six across all positions in targets, receptions and yards, most recently catching 44-of-57 targets for 470 yards and one touchdown. He averaged 1.61 yards per route run. The 28-year-old Cannella should not be expected to regularly score fantasy points this season. He was likely signed to provide reliable receiving depth behind David Njoku. Should Njoku miss time, Cannella could make for a viable streamer should he secure the No. 2 tight end role. The Browns released TE Tre’ McKitty in a corresponding move.

Shedeur Sanders

CLE Quarterback

2dCleveland Plain Dealer’s Alex Darus reports that Shedeur Sanders’ Tuesday citation for 101 MPH occurred hours after Sanders failed to appear in court for another speeding ticket issued less than 2 weeks prior.

This is not the type of update we were hoping for, and it will not help Sanders overcome the labels that got attached to him in the draft process. We don’t think getting two speeding tickets or not showing up in court disqualifies him from having an NFL career or becoming a starter at some point. (We’d say the same thing for being drafted in the fifth round.) But it certainly has not been an auspicious start.

Shedeur Sanders

CLE Quarterback

2dBrowns QB Shedeur Sanders was cited for speeding on Tuesday morning.

Sanders was caught doing 101 miles per hour in a 60 MPH zone in Strongsville, Ohio. He must either pay a $250 fine for the fourth-degree misdemeanor or fight the ticket in Strongsville Mayor’s Court on July 3. Sanders, 23, a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, is competing for the Browns starting job with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Dillon Gabriel, though The Athletic reported in May that there is “almost no scenario” in which Sanders or Gabriel get the Week 1 starting nod. We’ll see if this incident affects his standing with the organization.

Harold Fannin Jr.

CLE Tight End

4dThe Athletic’s Zac Jackson believes Harold Fannin Jr. is “considered more of a long-term project than an immediate contributor.”

Not a huge surprise with David Njoku on the depth chart ahead of him, but Fannin has had “an impressive start” in minicamp and Fannin has left other Browns beats asking if he ever drops a football. We maintain low hopes for a huge splash year for Fannin in his rookie season, but he sure has an interesting dynasty profile right now.

Diontae Johnson

CLE Wide Receiver

4dThe Athletic’s Zac Jackson believes Browns WR Diontae Johnson is “the clear favorite to win the slot receiver job.”

Jackson notes Johnson’s experience and production as reasons for him to have the edge over Jamari Thrash. Pittsburgh traded Johnson to Carolina last offseason. The Panthers then threw in the towel on him by shipping him to Baltimore. The Ravens cut him later in the year and then the Texans picked him and cut him a few weeks down the road for good measure. That’s four teams giving up on him in a calendar year. The Browns signed him to a measly, one-year, $1.2 million deal this offseason. Even if Thrash, a fifth-round pick in 2024, didn’t show enough as a rookie to be pencilled in as a starter, we’re not willing to call it for Johnson either.

Cedric Tillman

CLE Wide Receiver #19

7dThe Athletic’s Zac Jackson reports “locked-in starter” WR Cedric Tillman is sidelined at Browns mandatory minicamp with what is “believed to be” a “minor” injury.

While confirmation of the injury’s mild severity would be reassuring, we’ll take both Tillman’s starter status and Jackson’s injury belief as positives. Tillman has beatable competition for the No. 2 wide receiver role, facing journeyman Diontae Johnson for the gig. TE David Njoku will likely function as the passing game’s No. 2 overall weapon, but Tillman should still be able to return matchup-based flex value as the de facto No. 3.

Shedeur Sanders

CLE Quarterback

10dBrowns QB Shedeur Sanders served as the fourth-team quarterback to open the team’s mandatory minicamp.

Sanders was last in the quarterback rotation behind Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel during OTAs. Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports Sanders “served once again as the fourth-team quarterback” to begin mandatory minicamp. Cabot added, “he’s not getting work with the starters yet like the other three, but he did get the second set of 11-of-11s on Tuesday after Gabriel.” As the rookie with the lower draft pedigree, Sanders has an uphill climb for starting snaps despite his prolific image. He will need to work his way up the roster to compete with Gabriel and the two veterans, Flacco and Pickett.

Diontae Johnson

CLE Wide Receiver

11dDiontae Johnson is in attendance at Browns minicamp.

The mercurial Johnson, who inexplicably played for three teams in 2024, did not attend Cleveland’s OTAs last month, raising questions about his commitment to his latest team. Johnson’s availability at the start of mandatory minicamp suggests he’s on track to make the team barring any summertime meltdowns or injuries. A consistent target commander in the short areas of the field, Johnson has amassed 424 catches for 4,738 yards and 28 touchdowns in his six-year NFL career. Johnson could function as a primary target for whoever is under center for Cleveland to start the season.

Dillon Gabriel

CLE Quarterback #11

16dBrowns signed No. 94 overall pick QB Dillon Gabriel to a four-year contract.

Gabriel took the bulk of the first-team reps over Shedeur Sanders in rookie minicamp. The Browns have been mixing up the starter reps in OTAs and head coach Kevin Stefanski has said repeatedly not to read into the order of quarterback reps this early in the process. Joe Flacco looks like the best bet to be the team’s Week 1 starter, but at least one of the rookies, if not both, will start at some point this year. As the team’s first quarterback selection in the draft, Gabriel should get the first crack at the job once Stefanski benches his veteran of choice. Whether they want to admit it or not, this is a rebuilding season for Cleveland.

Joel Bitonio

CLE Guard #75

19dBrowns OG Joel Bitonio told reporters he’ll take his decision to retire on a year-to-year basis.

Bitonio, 33, has mulled retirement in the past, but the long-time Brown refuses to say when he’ll officially call it quits. He did shoot down any ideas of a retirement tour, however, as he prepares for what will be his 12th NFL season. Bitonio signed a three-year, $48 million contract extension with the Browns in 2021 that will keep him under contract through this season. Bitonio has started all 161 games he has appeared in for the Browns and earned a PFF blocking grade of 63.9 last season, playing more than 1,000 snaps for the eighth consecutive season.

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