NFL Insider Speculates Browns Traded Ahead of Eagles for Shedeur Sanders

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said that the Eagles had growing interest in the idea of drafting Shedeur Sanders.
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders was finally drafted on Sunday in the fifth-round of the 2025 NFL draft.
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders was finally drafted on Sunday in the fifth-round of the 2025 NFL draft. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns ended the free fall of Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders on Saturday when they traded with the Seattle Seahawks to take the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year with the 144th pick in the draft.

In order to make the selection, the Browns traded up ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles, who NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says were increasingly interested in the idea of drafting Sanders.

"There have been rumors all day that the Philadelphia Eagles were interested in Shedeur Sanders," Rapoport said in a live hit during NFL Network's draft coverage. "It would be a perfect landing spot for him - a veteran quarterback room, a team with a really good backbone, a really good culture. The Cleveland Browns just traded over the Eagles. I wonder here, I wonder did the Browns do this thinking the Eagles would take Shedeur?"

Perhaps that was Cleveland's motivation for moving up to get Sanders, who now enters a 2025 quarterback room with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel, who the Browns selected in the third round.


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Mike McDaniel
MIKE MCDANIEL

Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.