JUNE 29: SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora reports no trade involving Sanders should be expected at this time, with his value no higher than the fifth-rounder used to select him last spring. A lack of interest in Gabriel also makes him unlikely to be moved this summer.
JUNE 27: This week on ESPN Cleveland’s sports radio, a report from Tony Rizzo claimed the Browns were listening to trade offers for second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com pushed back on that narrative just a bit, as her sources seemed to indicate nothing had changed in the open competition that had seen Sanders pull even with recovering veteran Deshaun Watson, but Cabot did indicate that offers for Sanders would “undoubtedly” be heard if he doesn’t win the starting battle.
Cabot goes on to point out that this is true of the backup situation behind Watson and Sanders, as well, painting the full picture of what is an intriguingly dynamic quarterbacks room. We’ve gone over the top of the room in plenty detail previously. Once a perennial Pro Bowler and the potential counter to the longstanding QB curse in Cleveland, Watson is nearing his return from two separate Achilles surgeries having not played since October 2024. After Joe Flacco was traded to his third AFC North team and Dillon Gabriel‘s run in the driver seat was done, Sanders took over to start the final eight games of the 2025 season.
It’s no longer just a three-man race, though, after the team used a sixth-round pick to add Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green. With dynamic rushing abilities and a decent arm, Green drew a lot of interest before the draft as continued analyses of the class determined that, in a weak crop of quarterbacks, Green’s high potential ceiling likely made him worth a flyer. Green won’t care what the situation above him on the depth chart looks like; he’s punched his ticket to the NFL and is working with a head coach now that was calling plays for Lamar Jackson a year ago.
The latest we had heard in the QB1 competition was that nobody had pulled away as the clear leader, as head coach Todd Monken had hoped, and Watson and Sanders are expected to be given an even split of opportunities through training camp and joint practices with the Bills and then into the preseason until someone shows Monken they give the team the best chance to score. If, after all is said and done, Watson ends up on top, Cabot concedes that everyone has their price, and the Browns would likely be obligated to hear offers on Sanders.
Unless they plan to continue some level of competition into the regular season, thinking they want to see more of what Sanders can do, it only makes sense to trade him at that point. The Browns have set themselves up to go after a top passer in the 2027 NFL Draft, so if they aren’t going to start Sanders now, he might prove much more valuable in a trade that could continue giving Cleveland draft capital for its pursuits next year.
Similarly, the team will likely be keeping a close eye on the development of Green. If the dual-threat weapon shows signs that he can perform as an emergency QB3 or if he proves to be an extremely valuable asset as a scout team quarterback capable of simulating the play of Jackson, whom they expect to see twice a year, Green may be deemed more worthy of a roster spot than Gabriel, who might end up on the trading block, as well. So, even though Gabriel finds himself on the outside looking in with the race for QB1, he’s still got plenty to work for with Green on his heels.
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