When the Cleveland Brown traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, it was assumed that Shedeur Sanders would be the backup quarterback to Dillon Gabriel. However, head coach Kevin Stefanski wasn't ready to commit to that yet.
Browns update after Joe Flacco trade casts doubt on Shedeur Sanders becoming QB2 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
If you thought that Shedeur Sanders would step into the QB2 role for the Cleveland Browns now that Joe Flacco is gone, you might want to hold off on thinking that.
The Browns traded Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday, but before that he was sitting as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart behind Dillon Gabriel, who replaced the veteran as the starter in Week 5.
Naturally, the expectation was that Shedeur would get a bump up to QB2 after serving as the No. 3 signal-caller over the first five games.
However, that is not set in stone yet, according to head coach Kevin Stefanski, who made it quite clear no decision has been made on Gabriel's backup yet.
"Still working through all roster type things," he said of the backup quarterback job, per The Athletic's Zac Jackson. "With young players, I'm always mindful of their development. Let the week play out and make a decision later on."
The fact that Stefanski isn't committing to Sanders yet suggests the door is open for someone else to take the QB2 job.
The only other option on the roster to back up Gabriel is veteran Bailey Zappe, who is on the practice squad. Zappe made one start for the Browns in 2024, completing 16-of-31 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown to two picks.
Bailey is a former fourth-round pick of the New England Patriots, but unlike Sanders, his NFL story is already written. Zappe is a fringe backup, nothing more.
Meanwhile, there is still hope for Sanders, but the Browns can't find out if he has what it takes by keeping him as the emergency third quarterback who can only get into a game if the other two signal-callers ahead of him get injured.
The Browns should put Sanders next in line and give him a shot to take the football if Gabriel gets hurt, or if the third-round pick struggles enough that it's clear he isn't the long-term answer in 2025.
Once the Browns have a better idea of what they're working with when it comes to the young quarterbacks they have now, they can make a more informed decision about drafting another signal-caller in 2026.
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