Shedeur Sanders could be auditioning for another NFL team in final three Browns games

While Shedeur Sanders has brought some fun into a bleak era of Cleveland Browns football, the polarizing rookie quarterback could be auditioning for a different franchise.

Dec 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) kneels on the field before the game against the Tennessee Titans at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Polarizing rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been one of the lone highlights of a dreadful Cleveland Browns season.

The Browns find themselves with only three victories through Week 15 of the season, and they are likely monitoring draft positioning over their three remaining games.

While Sanders has been the best Cleveland quarterback this season, the fifth-round rookie out of Colorado could be auditioning for another team over these last three games.

That’s because the Browns have two first-round picks in April’s NFL Draft. The Browns passed on Sanders’s Colorado teammate, Travis Hunter, with the No. 2 overall pick in order to secure an extra first-round selection in 2026. They made that trade to acquire a quarterback, and that philosophy probably has not changed.

It’s unclear whether or not the Browns will bring back head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry to run the draft in April. It’s probably that back-to-back three win seasons would likely result in some sort of shakeup.

If Berry were to be let go with Stefanski, that dramatically decreases any hope that Sanders has to be on the Browns next season. The sixth-year general manager is thought to be a supporter of the promising young quarterback and pushed to get him on the field this season.

Why would the Browns trade Sanders?

A completely new regime would likely prefer to usher in their own players. If the Browns take a rookie quarterback in the top five, they will hand the keys to the franchise to him. The new coach likely would not want the attention and media coverage of Sanders being in the same position group.

Fair or unfair, the sample size was too small for Sanders to establish himself as the permanent answer in Cleveland. Berry repeated the value of Sanders in the fifth-round, possibly viewing Sanders as an asset instead of a contributor longterm. 

The Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens were both interested in selecting Sanders in the fifth-round. After Sanders displayed laser-sharp accuracy and development from bad habits displayed at Colorado, there would certainly be trade suitors for his services.

There’s no guarantee that the team will trade Sanders, however. Perhaps a new regime – or even a new head coach – would prefer to bolster the offensive line and wide receivers while giving Sanders a full offseason to develop. Even in that scenario, they would likely still bring in a veteran quarterback for a little bit of competition.

The Browns should have never wasted five weeks during the middle of their season starting Dillon Gabriel, the third-round rookie quarterback who was drafted 50 slots ahead of Sanders. He was overdrafted and the Browns likely felt the need to justify that. But even in training camp, Gabriel never showed any elite traits of being a difference making quarterback.

The time, energy and first team reps that were given to Gabriel should have been put into Sanders, who has shown flaws but way more upside as a passer.

If Stefanski’s seat is as hot as it appears to be, a new head coach could decide to turn the page completely on this chapter of Browns football. That could potentially mean sending Sanders on his way to steal the headlines in a better environment.