The Cleveland Browns have made a quarterback trade, but for once, they aren't bringing a quarterback in, they are sending another one away.
The Browns are trading Joe Flacco within the AFC North to the Cincinnati Bengals, per Ian Rapoport. This marks the second time in a matter of weeks that the Browns have shipped away one of the four quarterbacks they brought in during the offseason as part of their very crowded quarterback battle. Cleveland traded Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders ahead of the regular season kicking off.
What does this mean for Shedeur Sanders?
The biggest question Browns fans, and NFL fans as a whole will be asking now, is what does this mean for fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders? He remained the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart after Dillon Gabriel was named the starter, which made it pretty clear that Kevin Stefanski and the Browns' staff weren't exactly rushing to play the guy who was once thought to be the potential No. 1 overall pick. Now, it feels as close to inevitable as possible that Sanders will suit up at some point this season.
Gabriel played fine in his NFL debut against the Minnesota Vikings, going 19-of-33 for 190 yards and two touchdowns. If he continues to play like that, the Browns won't rush to pull him - unless Cleveland continues to lose games, at which point they would be doing a disservice to not at least see what they have with Sanders.
The Browns play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6 in Pittsburgh, a place they haven't won in the regular season since 2003 before taking a two-game road trip to play the New England Patriots and New York Jets, respectively. While it may not be immediate, the debut of Shedeur Sanders is far more likely to occur in 2025 after this trade than it was while Flacco was still on the roster.
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