Where Shedeur Sanders Stands on Browns Depth Chart After Joe Flacco Trade to Bengals

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders could be one step closer to making his regular-season NFL debut.

The Browns traded veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for a fifth-round pick on Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.

Flacco started the first four games of the season for the Browns before he was demoted to backup in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel ahead of Week 5.

The Browns' decision to trade Flacco indicates the team is ready to move Sanders up to QB2 for the first time this season prior to Week 6.

With Deshaun Watson still injured, Gabriel and Sanders are the only quarterbacks left on the Browns' active roster after the trade. Bailey Zappe is currently on the team's practice squad.

The Vikings lost Gabriel's NFL debut to the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday, although Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said the 21-17 defeat in London faetured a "lot of positives" for the rookie quarterback.

Gabriel went 19-for-33 for 190 yards with two touchdowns while taking two sacks and throwing no interceptions in the loss.

"For a young player in that environment, versus that defense, to take care of the ball, make the plays he made, I thought was a lot of positives with plenty to clean up, and that's what he will do," Stefanski said Monday.

The Browns (1-4) are scheduled to return to action next Sunday with a road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1).

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported last Saturday that the Browns were expected to play Sanders "at some point this season when he's ready."

Rapoport also wrote that Sanders' debut would come "with a full week of practice and a game plan built for him" that would be distinct from what the team has planned for Gabriel.

Sanders has received much more media attention than would be usual for a fifth-round pick and third-string quarterback after formerly starring in his father Deion Sanders' program at Colorado. He told ESPN Cleveland ahead of Week 4 that he was "ready to play right now" if called upon.

Seeing both rookie quarterbacks play this season could be key to the Browns' decision as to how to approach the 2026 NFL draft.

Thanks to a 2025 draft-day trade that allowed the Jacksonville Jaguars to draft Sanders' former Buffaloes teammate Travis Hunter, Cleveland is heading into the 2026 event with two first-round picks. Whether or not one of those selections is used on a quarterback could depend on how Gabriel and Sanders develop down the stretch.