The Cleveland Browns have been one of the confusing teams when it comes to their quarterback position. Despite having one of the best defenses in the league, the team hasn’t been able to find stability at the most important position in the sport. As a result, the offense as a whole has been questionable at best and downright abysmal at its worst. Last week, though, has brought a ton of changes to the room.
After trying with Joe Flacco for four weeks, head coach Kevin Stefanski finally decided to shift to Dillon Gabriel in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings. However, he chose to keep Flacco as QB2, leaving the uber-popular Shedeur Sanders as the third-stringer on the roster. A trade sending Flacco, who is ranked 35th in PFSN’s QBi Ranking, to the Cincinnati Bengals seemed like a recipe for Sanders’ elevation. However, once that was also brought into question, a former linebacker saw only one path for the second-generation star.
Is a Trade the Only Answer for Shedeur Sanders?
The son of Deion Sanders has been a name that has been in the news cycle since his final year at Colorado came to a close. Projected to be a first-round pick, his draft fall found him being taken in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Since then, he’s been in a competition for his spot on the Browns’ quarterback depth chart. Starting the season behind Flacco and his fellow rookie selection, the trade seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring him to the QB2 spot.
However, Stefanski, while detailing what the next few weeks could look like in Cleveland, did not assure Sanders of his elevation. Instead, he chose to remain noncommittal about the rookie and their practice squad member, Bailey Zappe.
Emmanuel Acho, who, after a four-year career in the NFL as a linebacker, took on the role of a media analyst, took to X to voice his complaints about the situation. His frustration was palpable, as he believed the Browns weren’t being fair to Sanders.
He wrote, “I’m so confused. If Stefanski makes *practice squad* player Bailey Zappe QB2, Shedeur has to request to be released. He’ll never play in Cleveland.” The choice for Zappe over Sanders does indeed feel like a perplexing one.
After starting 1-4 and shifting to Gabriel, it seemed clear that the team was ready to punt on the season and instead focus on making a proper verdict on their rookies. In that scenario, placing Sanders behind Zappe feels like a counterintuitive choice.
So far, the team hasn’t made an official decision on the matter. But if Zappe ends up being the choice over Sanders, it will be hard to see a scenario in which he finds a place in the lineup.