News broke on Tuesday that the Cleveland Browns traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, and this is an obvious win for Shedeur Sanders. In a shocking turn of events, Joe Flacco is now headed to another AFC North team after being benched by the Browns just a week ago.
The Browns have traded Joe Flacco who is on his second stint with the team, to the Cincinnati Bengals, and oddly enough, Flacco is now playing for his third AFC North team, which is a bit interesting. Flacco figures to take over the starting role for the Bengals at some point, and Cleveland likely gets some type of late-round draft compensation for the QB.
Cleveland benched Flacco and are now starting Dillon Gabriel, who played his tail off in Week 5. Well, Gabriel is obvious going to remain the starting QB for the time being, but this also makes things very interesting for Shedeur Sanders, who is now clearly the backup QB.
Browns trading Joe Flacco obviously benefits Shedeur Sanders
Flacco is headed to the Cincinnati Bengals as what is a last-ditch effort the Bengals are deploying to keep their season alive:
Bengals trading for QB Joe Flacco. (via @RapSheet + @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/k9e5lG1awA
— NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2025
The Bengals started 2-0 but have been without Joe Burrow for weeks now with a toe injury. That injury is likely keeping him out for the rest of the 2025 NFL Season, but with Cincy still being 2-3 and having a couple of wins on their schedule, it does make sense for them to make a move.
Shedeur Sanders likely gets bumped out to the backup QB job and is one step closer to being the starting QB at some point. In my opinion, it would make sense for the Browns to give Sanders some starts in the 2025 NFL Season.
They did spend a draft pick on him, and with the team likely viewing 2025 as more of a 'lost' year or perhaps more of an evaluation year, getting a read on Shedeur Sanders is a wise idea.