Insider Believes Browns’ Shedeur Sanders Has to Beat Out One Player to Make Roster

Are the Cleveland Browns really going to enter the season with five quarterbacks on their roster? That remains a question around the NFL, something the front office will have to figure out. If Deshaun Watson returns, that’d leave them with six quarterbacks on the roster. 

However, while that could impact Shedeur Sanders and some of the other players on the Browns’ roster, there’s still plenty that has to play out over the next few weeks to months. Despite that, according to Jared Dubin of CBS Sports, Sanders could be playing for a roster spot. He noted that the likeliest outcome in this ordeal is that Sanders could potentially lose his job if he doesn’t outperform Kenny Pickett, who’s currently dealing with an injury. 

“Flacco is the team’s presumptive starter and probably would not have signed with the Browns if he didn’t know that was the case. Gabriel was a Day 2 pick. Teams want their Day 2 picks to make the team. They would have to do something really bad in training camp to not make it. That leaves Pickett, who was acquired for a fifth-round pick and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Browns have comparatively little invested in him relative to Flacco and Gabriel, and about as much invested in him as they do in Sanders. 

“The difference is that Sanders is cheaper because he’s a fifth-round pick and Pickett is a former first-rounder in the final year of his rookie deal, and that the Browns have four years of team control on Sanders vs. just one on Pickett. Those factors could work in Sanders’ favor if they perform at a similar level during camp. If he straight up outperforms Pickett on the field, then he would just make Cleveland’s decision that much easier.,” he wrote.

Could Browns trade one of Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders

Dubin isn’t the only one who has suggested that the Cleveland Browns could move on from Sanders if others beat him out. In fact, many believe there’s a possibility for him to be traded or cut. That includes another CBS sports writer, Jonathan Jones, who noted a few weeks ago that if Sanders doesn’t win the quarterback battle, he doesn’t see how he or Dillon Gabriel could be moved to the practice squad. Instead, the better chance is for one of them to be cut because of the roster construction Cleveland currently has. 

“If Dillon Gabriel wins the battle against Shedeur Sanders in the battle of the rookies, I actually don’t see Shedeur Sanders going to the practice squad. If Shedeur Sanders beats Dillon Gabriel, I don’t see Dillon Gabriel going to the practice squad. And I also don’t see the Cleveland Browns keeping four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster…” said Jones.

What Shedeur Sanders represents

There are plenty of factors that have to go into considering moving on from a player like Sanders. 

Not only did he impress during his time at Colorado, but he’s also played well in training camp, and there are other factors, making him a significant player off the field. 

At the end of the day, he’s going to help bring money in for the Cleveland Browns, and that’s something that Jimmy Haslam has always loved.