How Browns' Joe Flacco trade to Bengals impacts Shedeur Sanders
Cleveland's deal with Cincinnati impacts the rookie quarterback in a few ways
•
2 min read
The Cleveland Browns' quarterback room has been turned on its head yet again. A week after coach Kevin Stefanski benched Joe Flacco for rookie third-rounder Dillon Gabriel, the franchise traded Flacco (and a sixth-round pick) to the Cincinnati Bengals for a fifth-rounder. Naturally, this deal will have ramifications for both AFC North teams in various ways. One of those ramifications surrounds the impact that it'll have on fellow Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Once considered a potential top-five pick, the Colorado product had an infamous free fall at the 2025 NFL Draft, dropping to the fifth round, where Cleveland selected him with the 144th overall pick. He began the season as the third-string quarterback behind the likes of Flacco and Gabriel, but times are changing as the Browns' depth chart continues to be reshaped.
Here are three ways how this move impacts Sanders.
Now the primary backup to Dillon Gabriel
With Flacco off to Cincinnati, Sanders moves up the depth chart by default. He and Gabriel are currently the only two quarterbacks on the Browns' 53-man roster, so Sanders is now QB2. That means he'll be the next man up if Gabriel struggles or comes down with any sort of injury. Before this deal, there was no guarantee that Sanders would see any playing time under one of those circumstances, as Stefanski could've simply gone back to Flacco.
It'll be interesting to see if Cleveland does make a corresponding move at quarterback, as there is quite a bit of inexperience in the room currently with two rookies. That could be as easy as elevating Bailey Zappe, who has nine career starts under his belt (including one with the Browns in 2024), from the practice squad.
More practice reps
With this presumed second-string ascension, Sanders will likely see an increased amount of practice reps. While we won't get to see the young quarterback take on those reps, they could prove to be invaluable to his development and possibly push for more playing time. As a third-stringer, Sanders likely didn't take many reps. There simply wasn't enough to go around with Flacco/Gabriel needing to receive the lion's share as the starter/backup to prepare for the upcoming week.
Now, Sanders factors into that equation, which should allow him to hone his skills further and build up a better rapport with his pass catchers. It should be helpful if/when he gets into game action.
Show of faith from the front office/coaching staff
While not tangible, this angle shouldn't be overlooked. Even if it's just a sliver, trading away Flacco is a sign of faith from the Browns' front office/coaching staff in their quarterbacks on the roster, which includes Sanders. If they felt uneasy about the prospects of rolling with two rookies as the top signal-callers, they would've kept Flacco instead of acquiring a middling Day 3 pick. Of course, it's obvious that they are enamored with Gabriel after they named him the starter. But they must like what they've seen from Sanders to feel comfortable making this move and, in turn, promoting him on the depth chart.
This is a similar situation from the summer when Cleveland shipped veteran Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders and stuck with Flacco, Gabriel and Sanders as its quarterbacks to begin the regular season. That stemmed from promising showings from those young quarterbacks, and it may be a similar case here with them flashing their capability through the first five weeks of the regular season. For Sanders, these two trades moved him from QB4 to begin training camp to QB2, which feels notable.
