On Monday, the Dallas Cowboys created an opening on the team’s quarterback depth chart, and fans immediately started theorizing on a bold way to fill it.
After the Cowboys waived Joe Milton III and kept Sam Howell behind Dak Prescott, a familiar hypothetical resurfaced: what if Jerry Jones traded for Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders?
NFL Fans Split Over Shedeur Sanders-to-Dallas Trade Idea
To be clear, there is no report that Dallas is pursuing Sanders, but the idea was enough to ignite a debate between Cowboys fans.
“Make the Cowboys great again!!!” one fan replied.
Another fan was considerably less enthusiastic about the destination.
“Y’all really don’t want the dude to play ever,” the user wrote.
That objection gets to the biggest football problem with the proposal. Sanders would be buried behind Prescott, who remains the centerpiece of Dallas’ offense after finishing the 2025 season with an 82.1 QB Impact Score that ranked No. 6 among qualifying quarterbacks.
Make the Cowboys great again!!! https://t.co/ZGXnbrekiT
— fallingstarr12 (@CUBuffAuntyGina) September 1, 2026
Still, the Jerry Jones factor was impossible for fans to ignore, especially given his ties to Shedeur’s father, Cowboys legend Deion Sanders.
“Make the call Jerry,” one user wrote in an X post.
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One Browns fan pointed out that Jones had plenty of chances to make that call much earlier, writing, “Jerry had 5 rounds 😂😂😂🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️”
Dallas passed on Sanders throughout the 2025 NFL Draft before Cleveland selected him with the No. 144 overall pick. Jones later said that the Cowboys had evaluated Sanders “extremely high” and praised the character of the Sanders family, which made sense given his decades-long relationship with Deion.
Cleveland recently named Deshaun Watson as its starting quarterback and Sanders as his backup, with rookie Taylen Green serving as the QB3 and Dillon Gabriel landing on injured reserve. Sanders played eight games as a rookie, completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. His 63.0 QB Impact Score ranked No. 37 among 38 qualifying quarterbacks last season.
Dallas, meanwhile, waived Milton on Monday as the corresponding move after claiming running back Emari Demercado. That leaves Prescott and Howell as the only quarterbacks on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster.
“So he can sit behind Dak and not have a chance to play?” another fan asked in an X reply.
So he can sit behind Dak and not have a chance to play?
— Saru-Mon (@LobaSupremacy) August 31, 2026
One fan argued that Dallas is the “last place I want him.”
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“SS cult with the Cowboy cult is like dropping a nuke into fire,” one fan added.
The idea itself is not entirely new. In June, PFN identified several landing spots for Sanders and Dallas was listed as a possible developmental home for the young quarterback, largely because Jones could potentially acquire him cheaply and let him learn behind Prescott.
However, that remains a hypothetical, and there’s no guarantee that Cleveland will even shop the 24-year-old. The Browns named Watson their starter, but it won’t be a surprise if they eventually turn to Shedeur at some point this season.
The Cowboys may have an open quarterback slot, but whether that means they will pursue the most famous backup QB in football remains to be seen.
