Shedeur Sanders Could Be On His Way To The Indianapolis Colts

However, he wasn’t picked until the fifth round, although, in doing so, the Cleveland Browns did trade up to bag their man, their second quarterback of their draft.

So overloaded are the Browns in the quarterback position, however, that rumours have started swirling, suggesting that Sanders could be traded. The Indianapolis Colts are believed to be a likely destination, considering they are light in the QB area.

The Cleveland Browns' Super Bowl Aspirations

The Cleveland Browns are considered distant outsiders for the Super Bowl, having been given odds of 100/1 to win the trophy and 60/1 to emerge victorious from their conference from some of the leading sportsbooks.

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Browns’ Struggles

The Browns have struggled in the NFL since the start of the millennium. Since 2000, they have only had four winning seasons in 2002, 2007, 2020, and 2023. Recently, they have made improvements, with playoff appearances in 2020 and 2023, winning the playoffs in 2020.

They have never appeared in a Super Bowl, joining just three other teams with the unfortunate record. In this time, they have also become known for going through a lot of head coaches, ten since 1999, and quarterbacks, 40 starters in the same period.

Quarterback Rotation

That rotation of quarterbacks has been partially blamed for their poor seasons. The quarterback leads the team on the field and is responsible for making team and play calls while also being able to make accurate throws and read defenses.

While a star quarterback can’t win the Super Bowl on their own, it is virtually impossible for a team without a solid QB to achieve the feat.

Replacing Baker Mayfield

The team has especially struggled to pin somebody down in the quarterback position since 2022. The Browns used their first pick of the 2018 draft to grab Baker Mayfield. He enjoy a mixed performance. In his debut, he helped the team bring a 19-game winless streak to an end. In his first season, he set a rookie quarterback record for passing touchdowns. His greatest achievement was leading the Browns to their first playoff appearance since 2002 in 2020. It ended up being their first playoff victory since 1994.

However, his performances dropped off after that, and he reportedly fell out with the team’s management, leading to him being traded in 2022. After a year at the Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Rams, Mayfield settled at the Buccaneers in 2023. Since then, the Buccaneers have won two consecutive division titles and one playoff. He has enjoyed a resurgence, and the Browns must surely be wishing they had kept hold of him.

Trading Up For Deshaun Watson

In 2022, the Browns traded up, giving away three first-round picks, to bag Deshaun Watson. Watson signed a $230m five-year contract and still has two years to run, costing $46m a year. The Browns are on the hook for that salary, which means they can’t really afford to part ways with him, nor can they let him languish on the practice field.

Currently, Watson is out with an Achilles injury, which means he will miss the first few months of the upcoming season, but he is likely to feature when he returns to the team. The Browns also have Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, both of whom were added during the offseason. And, in this year’s draft, they picked up Dillon Gabriel in the third round, two rounds before they opted for Sanders. As it stands, Sanders is unlikely to bag a starting position unless he can really impress during the training camp.

Sanders’ Fall From Grace

Sanders was expected to be a first-round pick during the draft. When he didn’t get snapped up on day one, it was widely expected he would go on day two. However, it would be three more rounds before the Browns acted, although they did trade up with Seattle to bag their man. They had courted Sanders extensively during the pre-draft period, so it was somewhat surprising to see them pick up Gabriel first.

It’s possible, although nobody at the Browns has commented, that his interviews and rumours of his interviews had something to do with the cooling teams performed. According to some reports, he had been arrogant and entitled during interviews. If teams believed his arrogance would cause more work than his talent justified, they may have judged this to be a sign to avoid the quarterback.

Sanders On The Move

Whatever the reason for his slide, a fifth-round pick was deemed good value. However, according to rumours, he may not be at the Browns for long. If the Browns play three quarterbacks over the season, that means they effectively still have two too many.

Rather than letting their picks sit on the bench or play on the practice field, analysts believe they will try to get some value from Sanders by trading him. The team that seems most likely to pick him up, at least according to some sources, is the Indianapolis Colts. Where the Browns have a surfeit of quarterbacks, the Colts are depleted in this area.

They have Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, and neither is deemed ready to become the regular starting quarterback. For the Colts, Sanders represents a decent gamble. If he doesn’t prove good enough or is too explosive for the dressing room, they do have backup. If he turns out to be the real deal, they will get a star quarterback for minimal outlay.