Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders ruffled some feathers when he said he could perform better than some starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Just a few weeks later, the Browns gave Sanders a vote of confidence on that front, trading away veteran quarterback Joe Flacco in a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
With the move, Sanders presumably will become the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart behind fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. Prior to Tuesday’s trade, Sanders served as the team’s emergency No. 3 quarterback on game day. In that role, Sanders was part of the team’s inactives, but could still see the field if both quarterbacks ahead of him on the team’s depth chart were injured. That situation never came to pass, and Sanders has yet to be active for an NFL game.
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That could happen as soon as Week 6, but that comes with an asterisk. While there’s nothing preventing the Browns from immediately listing Sanders as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart and activating him in time for Sunday’s game, a recent report suggested the team doesn’t want Sanders to be forced into action if the game plan wasn’t built for his strengths, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
As to why Sanders is not the backup QB on Sunday, there is one specific reason.
The Browns want Sanders to be successful when he’s out there. When he plays, they want him to do so with a game plan that is made for him to thrive. As the backup, if he was forced into action, he’d be running a game plan built for Gabriel, rather than one built to his strengths. Is that fair to Sanders?
That report, however, came out prior to the trade. The Browns may have been firm about their plans for Sanders prior to trading away Flacco, but that’s old news now that Flacco is no longer a part of the team. The point about Sanders running a game plan built for Gabriel is even more valid now, but it’s possible the Browns have changed their minds on that front in the days since Rapoport’s report came out.
Depending on the team’s feelings, there is a possibility the Browns opt to keep Sanders as the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart and elevate veteran Bailey Zappe to serve as Gabriel’s backup, at least initially. That move wouldn’t necessarily affect the team’s long-term plans for Sanders, and would presumably allow the team to build a full game plan around Sanders’ strengths if he were pushed into action sooner than expected.
Since the 2025 NFL Draft, Gabriel consistently played ahead of Sanders in the preseason and regular season. Despite some analysts listing Sanders as a possible first-round pick, the Colorado quarterback fell all the way to the fifth round. Despite taking Gabriel in the third round of the draft, the Browns decided to double dip at the position and take Sanders two rounds later.
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After a successful starting debut in Week 5 — Gabriel threw two touchdowns in a late loss to the Minnesota Vikings — Gabriel is expected to remain ahead of Sanders on the team’s depth chart for now. But with Flacco suddenly out of town, Sanders’ path to playing time is much clearer. If Gabriel goes down with an injury or falters over the next couple weeks, Sanders will be the next man up.
This news was originally published on this post .
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