When the Cleveland Browns made the move to trade up for Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, it was an automatic hype machine for the franchise. Sanders has been one of the most talked about players in the league since the draft.
It’s quite possibly that he is the most talked about fifth-round pick in NFL history.
Sanders looked good in his NFL debut during the Browns’ preseason opener. He was unable to play in the second preseason game due to an oblique injury, but the conversation has already started to grow after his debut performance.
During that debut against the Carolina Panthers, Sanders completed Sanders completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 138 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, while also running for 19 yards on four attempts.
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He is involved in a four-man quarterback competition. Deshaun Watson is also on the roster as a fifth quarterback, but he’s not expected to play.
Cleveland seems very unlikely to carry five quarterbacks on its roster. At least one player will likely be on his way out of town before the regular season.
Right now, the Browns have Joe Flacco as their starter. Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Sanders are fighting for the backup role. Gabriel happened to be the team’s third-round pick in the 2025 draft and moving on from him seems unlikely.
That could lead to the conversation coming down to Pickett and Sanders.
NFL insider Pete Prisco of CBS has hinted at Sanders possibly being the odd man out. He suggested that Cleveland could cut ties with the former Colorado star.
“The rookie that they would probably get rid of would be the one they took in the 5th round,” he said bluntly.
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If the Browns were to cut or trade Sanders, the NFL world would be turned on its head. As of now, he’s being talked about as the face of the future for Cleveland.
That being said, the brutal reality is that he was a fifth round pick and the Browns might simply view him as such. Many fifth round or later quarterbacks don’t make rosters. Sanders could very well be in jeopardy.
Only time will tell, but this is a situation worth monitoring closely. Sanders might very well make the roster and see playing time this season, but there is a chance that he might not even make the team.
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