Browns should ‘part ways’ with Shedeur Sander if he’s not backup, ex-NFL star says

When Dillon Gabriel was named the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback ahead of Week 5, Shedeur Sanders’ role as third-string quarterback remained unchanged and Joe Flacco became the backup.

But even if Flacco is now with the Cincinnati Bengals, it remains to be seen whether Sanders will earn a promotion as a backup.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski refused to allow Sanders to serve as a backup, prompting Bailey Zappe to be promoted to the practice squad, drawing the ire of ESPN analyst Ryan Clark.

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“If [Sanders] He wasn’t named as a backup quarterback, it’s time to part ways. It’s time to trade him, it’s time to take him out of your locker room. “Because your development plan is not to develop Shedeur Sanders as a starter on your team in the future, and if you don’t see that plan for him, too much comes with that.” “First Take.”

Flacco will start for the Bengals this Sunday after Jake Browning lost all three of his starts following Joe Burrow’s injury.

“First of all, I have to say that we were surprised by the Joe trade,” Stefanski said Wednesday. “It wasn’t something we expected. You know, they called us up and it happened very quickly, it wasn’t that long ago. So I’m still working on things with the squad. I always have to pay attention to our players and the development of our players and I always want to make sure I do what’s best for our players and of course our team. But when it comes to young players, I always think about last week, the transfer for Dillon (Gabriel).

Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns warms up before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Huntington Bank Field on September 21, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

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“You have to think long and hard about it because these are young players and you invest so much in their development. So I’ll let the week play out and then I’ll make a decision.”

Stefanski referred to Zappe as “the elder statesman right now” given his history of starting games. New England Patriots. He also noted that Deshaun Watson has provided some leadership despite not being able to play this season.

Stefanski made the move last week for Gabriel, who was two runs ahead of Sanders in April, to make his first NFL start against the Minnesota Vikings in London. Gabriel threw two touchdown passes in his first start, but the Vikings rallied late to beat the Browns 21-17 while Cleveland fell to 1-4.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) looks on during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on August 16, 2025. (Kyle Ross/Imagn Images)

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Sanders didn’t make a vocal comment about being stuck on the third string last week, instead pantomiming when asked about it. However, he reacted to the Flacco trade.

“I’m happy for him,” Sanders said.

Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.

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