Is There a Shedeur Sanders Trade Package That Could Actually Help the Browns?

With the Cleveland Browns failing to squash rumors regarding a possible Shedeur Sanders trade, moving on from last year’s fifth round passer is an option that still can’t be discarded before the start of the regular season.

However, if the possibility of dealing Sanders is actually true, we must then ask ourselves if it really serves any purpose for the Browns.

Sanders is currently competing against Deshaun Watson for the starting quarterback job, with neither able to create some separation up to this point, according to head coach Todd Monken. If he’s considered good enough to potentially beat Watson out and ultimately win this competition, why would you want to get rid of him at 24-years old and still on his first contact?

In this scenario, finding a suitable trade partner is the first step. Determining a fair value would be next. Let’s take a look at what could potentially be offered as trade compensation for Sanders.

Who could be interested in acquiring Shedeur Sanders?

The list is alarmingly short. With training camp just around the corner, it’s unlikely many teams are still looking to upgrade their starting position instead of working with what they already have.

Baltimore was reportedly interested in Sanders in last year’s draft, but Tyler Huntley is the ideal backup for Lamar Jackson, so that should be that.

Arizona could be one team where -- depending on how the Jacoby Brissett situation unfolds -- Sanders could have plausibly been competing for a starting job, but that doesn’t seem feasible right now. On the Cardinals' roster, rookie Carson Beck would be his direct competition, but he’d still be standing behind Gardner Minshew right now.

Meanwhile, the Jets and Buccaneers could potentially see in Sanders an upgrade at the backup spot over Cade Klubnik and Jake Browning, respectively. Again, inserting Sanders into any competition at this point would be unfair, but those two teams could offer him a chance if they were interested in his services, something we can’t confirm.

Time really isn’t on Sanders’ side.

After those three teams, there’s really no point in acquiring a third-stringer via trade.

What would compensation for Shedeur Sanders look like?

Not good, at all. The demand is poor, and he’d be arriving as a second-stringer, in the best-case scenario.

Perhaps, a quarterback for a quarterback could be the best option out there, affording Sanders and somebody else a clean slate to start over.

Then you’d have to ask yourself if having a guy like Denver’s Jarrett Stidham or Jacksonville’s Nick Mullens, is really better as Watson’s backup than Sanders, who seemingly still has the support of the locker room.

The answer is no.

And if we’re talking draft pick compensation, it would be hard to drum up enough interest in Sanders where a sixth-round pick is offered.

Bottom-line, Cleveland’s best chance at getting the most out of Sanders is having him actually winning the quarterback competition over Watson, and then building upon what he offered last season.

If anything, trading Sanders away and not getting another quarterback in return as compensation would also weaken the Browns, as it would automatically promote Dillon Gabriel -- who has been an afterthought for Monken so far -- as second in line behind Watson, a passer who’s coming off a year and a half of inactivity due to injuries.

The Browns' quarterback situation is, by any measure, a bad one. Trading Sanders away right now would only make it worse.

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