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 some measure of a vote of confidence on that front, trading away veteran quarterback Joe Flacco in a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
With the move, Sanders was elevated to the No. 2 quarterback spot on the depth chart behind fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.
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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 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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Before Tuesday’s trade, nothing prevented the Browns from listing Sanders as the No. 2 QB in time for Sunday’s game. A recent report suggested the team didn’t want Sanders to be forced into action if the game plan wasn’t built for his strengths, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
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?
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That report, however, came out prior to the trade. The Browns may have been firm about their plans for Sanders prior to dealing 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 changed their minds on that front in the days since Rapoport’s report came out.
There is a possibility the Browns opt to return Sanders to QB3 on the depth chart and elevate veteran Bailey Zappe to serve as Gabriel’s backup. Zappe has started nine games in the NFL, including one for the Browns last season, and that move would allow the team to build a fuller plan around Sanders’ strengths if he were pushed into action sooner than expected.
At least initially, the Browns have Sanders as QB2, so perhaps Zappe will remain on the practice squad for now.
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Since the 2025 NFL Draft, Gabriel has consistently been ahead of Sanders on the depth chart and on the field in preseason and the regular season. Despite some draft analysts projecting Sanders as a possible first-round pick, the Colorado quarterback fell to the fifth round, two rounds after the Browns took Gabriel.
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. 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 could be the next man up.
