Just because the Cleveland Browns traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals doesn’t mean Shedeur Sanders is moving up the depth chart.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on Wednesday was non committal on whether Sanders will be the team’s backup quarterback, opening the door for practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe being the backup to Dillon Gabriel on Sunday.
“All roster type of things, I always have to be mindful of our players and our players’ development,” Stefanski said. “And I want to make sure that I’m always doing what’s best for our players and, of course, our team. But with young players, I’m always thinking about — last week, making the change to Dillon, you have to think long and hard about that, because these are young players that you are so invested in their development. So, I’ll let the week play out [and] make a decision later.”
Cleveland traded Joe Flacco and a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick.
Sanders, the 144th pick in this year’s draft, has been inactive as the No. 3 and emergency QB through the Browns’ first five games. In the aftermath of trading Flacco, Cleveland on Tuesday listed Sanders as its No. 2 QB on this week’s unofficial depth chart.
Flacco started the first four games before being benched for Gabriel, who made his first career start last Sunday, a 21-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London. Stefanski said that the trade “took us by surprise” and that the Bengals reached out to the team about a possible deal.
Deshaun Watson remains on the physically unable to perform list as he rehabs from an Achilles injury. Stefanski did not provide an update on whether Watson would return to practice soon but said, “he’s doing an excellent job with his rehab.”
