The Cleveland Browns could potentially open the 2026 season with Shedeur Sanders as their starting quarterback. Either way, the Browns aren't predicted to win many games.
This is why Sanders is still going to be floated in trade conversations. Mark Powell of FanSided thinks he has a solid plan for Sanders, proposing a trade where the Browns send him to Detroit in exchange for a fifth-round pick.
Essentially, Powell thinks this is a good move for both Sanders and the Lions. Sanders gets a chance to sit behind Jared Goff and be in a winning organization while the Lions get insurance behind Goff now that Teddy Bridgewater retired.
But why would the Browns trade Sanders if he's neck-and-neck with Deshaun Watson to be their Week 1 starter?
"The Browns should be bad again, which means they'll target another QB of the future in the 2027 draft. Still, Sanders has shown he can adapt to the modern NFL. For a team like the Detroit Lions, which recently lost Teddy Bridgewater, Sanders would serve as a beacon of hope behind Jared Goff. It's worth the risk," Powell wrote.
Ah, there it is. The Browns aren't projected to be any good so why not trade Sanders while they can and at least get something in return for him? That part makes some sense even if the return happens to be a fifth-round pick, which is fittingly where Sanders was taken in his respective draft.
Trading a potential Week 1 starter for a fifth-round pick would be a tough sell in Cleveland
It's worth noting that the Lions signed Josh Dobbs to take Bridgewater's spot as the backup option, so Sanders might not even be a shoo-in for the backup gig if this trade were to happen. Powell wasn't too convinced that Dobbs was the answer, though.
"The second Goff goes down, the Lions postseason chances tumble. Of course, Brad Holmes could do something about that by acquiring a backup the Lions can actually rely on, or at least develop alongside Goff. Dobbs isn't that, and let's not pretend Luke Altmyer stands a chance," Powell wrote.
Dobbs is a fairly proven backup and therefore isn't a bad option for Detroit to have behind Goff. The Lions also would need to factor in the media craze that would come from having Sanders on the roster even if he's not the starter. Being Deion Sanders' son will do that to you.
I get why people might think Sanders being traded makes sense but right now, it wouldn't make much sense for Cleveland to do so. The Browns are still trying to win this year and as crazy as it sounds, he might give them the best chance to do that.
Perhaps if it's clear that the Browns aren't going anywhere when the trade deadline is inching closer, then a trade could make sense. Right now, however, it's best to hold onto Sanders and see if Todd Monken and the Browns' coaching staff can mold him into an NFL-caliber quarterback.
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