Colorado Buffaloes football legend Shedeur Sanders still hasn’t been named Dillon Gabriel’s backup by Kevin Stefanski, even in the wake of the Cleveland Browns trading Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Some feel practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe can be signed to a standard contract and usurp Sanders on the depth chart. Some feel Sanders’ time in the sun isn’t possible to happen in a Browns uniform.
It may be tempting for the “Grown QB” to want a trade out of Cleveland, but the Browns’ fourth-round pick and the No. 106 overall selection in 2004, Luke McCown, strongly advised against it in a long rant on X Thursday.
McCown was responding to the suggestion from ESPN personalities Mina Kimes and Ryan Clark.
“This is possibly most ridiculous take I’ve ever heard…Truly hope Shedeur doesn’t listen to this, to ask to be released or traded would be IMO career suicide. Theres no market for him at the moment,” McCown tweeted.
“I have very similar experience in this kind of situation in particular…2007 in my 3rd yr I had worked my way back from an ACL injury the previous yr in Tampa to being a backup behind Jeff Garcia.. in the first game of the yr Jeff gets dinged up in a blow out loss and I go in for about 6 plays.. I come to work the next week and was ( without any heads up or explanation or discussion) demoted to 3rd QB. Pissed off, disappointed, are understatements… I had worked my tail off back from injury. I played extremely well thru 4 preseason games, I earned that spot. But I was demoted without a word.
“Ultimately, I found out the thought process behind it was they felt Bruce Gronkowski was better coming in off the bench mid game, but if it was a situation where I had the full week to prepare, they wanted me to start. Which is exactly what happened in week 12 against the New Orleans Saints. When given an entire week of gameplan and preparation they told me I was starting and I did and played extremely well and we won and sealed the division.
“Shedeur don’t ask for a trade, or to be released, theres not a market out there for you right now. You’re time very well may be just around the corner, where they want you to have a full week to prepare..
“But what Mina and RC suggest is very bad advice.”
Clark suggested that Coach Prime’s looming shadow over Shedeur could re-emerge and produce storm clouds if No. 12 doesn’t see snaps.
“If he is not named the backup quarterback, it's time to part ways. It's time to trade him, it's time to get him out of your locker room. Because, clearly, your plan for development is not to develop Shedeur Sanders as a future starter of your team. And too much comes with him, if you don't see that sort of plan for him,” Clark said.
Sanders likely isn’t moving anywhere until Cleveland decides what to do with their 2026 draft picks.