Shedeur Sanders Trade Would Be Foolish For Browns Amid QB Competition, NFL Rumors

The Cleveland Browns are entering a very pivotal training camp that could determine how the next several years unfold. Cleveland replaced head coach Kevin Stefanski with Todd Monken early in the offseason, and the hope is that a camp competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders will help deliver a viable starting quarterback for the 2026 season.

The quarterback outlook beyond 2026 is very murky but will hinge on who wins the competition and how things go from there.

At this point, it feels unlikely that Cleveland would keep Watson after his contract expires next spring. If he regains his previous Pro Bowl form in Monken's offense, though, the Browns will, at a minimum, face a very difficult decision. If Sanders wins the job and plays well, the Browns may be forced to consider him a long-term option.

If neither signal-caller plays well this season, Cleveland will almost certainly be dipping into a promising 2027 draft pool. The Browns have two 2027 first-round picks after trading away Myles Garrett, and they may have a realistic shot at a prospect like Dante Moore, Arch Manning, and CJ Carr.

Of course, there's a non-zero chance that GM Andrew Berry and the Browns are already planning on finding their next quarterback of the future in next year's draft. That's led to some speculation that if Sanders doesn't win the starting job—and Watson appears to be the early leader in the clubhouse—he could be traded.

Last month, Tony Rizzo of ESPN Cleveland reported there have been "talks" regarding the "availability" of Sanders.

More recently, though, some insiders have pushed back against the idea that Sanders could be made available in the near future.

Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero stated that he believes Sanders will be on the Week 1 roster.

"Anything out there about like they're looking to trade him, I would put zero stock in that," Pelissero said (h/t Brandon Little of A to Z Sports). "If I were sitting here right now, June 24th, and had to make an educated guess, I'd say he and Deshaun Watson are both on the team in September, and quite possibly both play."

According to Jason La Canfora of Sports Boom, while Watson does seem to be the Week 1 favorite, that isn't likely to lead to Sanders' exit:

"SportsBoom continue to hear that veteran Deshaun Watson, finally at the completion of a $230M, fully guaranteed contract, is very much the favourite to end up starting in Week 1, regardless of all the speculation about other quarterbacks on the roster.

"But the Browns are not expected to move Shedeur Sanders anytime soon, according to league sources, with head coach Todd Monken a believer in him and with Watson coming off consecutive lost seasons and with a deep injury history."

Cleveland shouldn't be open to dealing Sanders before Week 1—or at any point this season, really—because doing so would be foolish.

Sanders was widely viewed as a borderline first-round talent heading into last year's draft. He was the 23rd-ranked overall prospect on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's final draft board.

Sanders' fall to Round 5 didn't suddenly erase the talent and intangibles that initially earned him first-round consideration. Even if the Browns are eyeing the 2027 class, Sanders remains a valuable lottery ticket that didn't require a massive investment.

Cleveland can afford to be patient with him. And if he doesn't win the Week 1 job, that doesn't mean the Browns won't need him at some point in 2026.

Recent history screams the Browns will start more than one quarterback this coming season. It also suggests that, even if Watson wins the job, he'll either get injured or play too poorly to keep it. Now, the Browns have four quarterbacks on the roster, but Dillon Gabriel is a career backup at best, and rookie sixth-round pick Taylen Green is a very raw prospect.

If Watson does give way to another quarterback in-season, Sanders is the only one likely to develop into a long-term answer.

Now, Sanders obviously didn't show enough as a rookie to keep Watson out of the QB competition or to quiet chatter about the 2027 QB class. However, he'll be operating with a vastly improved supporting cast if and when he does get on the field in 2026.

Cleveland reloaded its offensive line almost completely, and it added a pair of talented rookie receivers in Kevin Concepcion and Denzel Boston. The occasional flashes of promise that Sanders exhibited last season might come with more frequency in a new offense and with a more complete offensive roster.

In short, the Browns owe it to themselves to see if Sanders can win the starting job in camp—or take it during the season—and run with it. In a best-case scenario, he might just show that Cleveland can target other positions with its two first-round picks. Barring that, he could still show enough to generate stronger trade interest next offseason.

And the worst-case scenario wouldn't be Sanders never getting on the field or playing poorly,leaving him with little value and Cleveland with a lost fifth-round flier. The worst-case scenario would involve the Browns flipping Sanders before he gets another chance, only to see him establish himself as a quality starter elsewhere.

Cleveland saw how that can play out as it swapped Baker Mayfield for the Watson mess that has led up to this pivotal, looming quarterback competition.