The Cleveland Browns have traded veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, which in turn elevated rookie Shedeur Sanders from QB3 to backup signal-caller behind starter Dillon Gabriel.
Sanders’ father, Colorado head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was asked about the Flacco deal. He provided the following response.
Sanders was once fourth on the Browns’ unofficial depth chart in August behind Flacco, veteran Kenny Pickett and Gabriel. However, Cleveland traded Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders last August, elevating Sanders to QB3.
Now he’s moved up another spot as the Browns get ready for a road matchup with the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Sanders has traveled an interesting professional road to say the least. He was once largely considered a first round draft pick earlier this year and was even mentioned in the same breath as Miami’s Cam Ward for the No. 1 overall pick to the Tennessee Titans.
As the pre-draft process continued, Sanders dropped from that consideration, but he was still thought of as the QB2 in the draft for the most part.
However, Sanders saw a tremendous slide down the draft, all the way to pick No. 144 overall (fifth round). He was notably the second quarterback the Browns took in the NFL draft behind Gabriel, the former Oregon star who went in the third round.
Sanders was buried on the depth chart at first, but now he’s risen to backup just a month or so into the season.
As far as future playing time goes, that may not arrive so quickly. In his debut, Gabriel looked good in a 21-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday, completing 19-of-33 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
We’ll see how the rest of the season transpires, but two rookie signal-callers now top the depth chart in Cleveland as the team looks to get back in the win column on Sunday.
