Two down, one to go.
Shedeur Sanders’ path to potentially starting an NFL game now has just one quarterback in his way after the Browns surprisingly traded Joe Flacco to the Bengals on Tuesday.
Sanders is now the backup to fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel after Tuesday’s move to send Flacco to a division rival and the preseason trade of Kenny Pickett to the Raiders.
The former Colorado star praised Flacco for helping him in his rookie season.
“He was definitely someone I leaned on for wisdom and I feel like he helped me a lot. He helped me a lot in my time being here in Cleveland,” Sanders said of Flacco to Fox 8 News in Cleveland. “So now, everybody has their own destinies and plans they have in life, so just happy for him.”
While there is a 17-year age gap between the 40-year-old Flacco and 23-year-old Sanders, the two hit it off in their short time together.
Flacco, the former Super Bowl winner with the Ravens, provided a nice balance to Sanders’ youthful exuberance.
The former said earlier this year that the ex-Buffaloes quarterback “has been great” and “a lot of fun” to be around in meeting rooms, according to ESPN.
Sanders said he saw Flacco after the transaction and could not believe how quick everything changed.
“He’s definitely a person that adjusts to any situation he’s in,” Sanders said. “He’s an old man, so it’s funny though. I always bring the youngness out of him and he always smiles, so funny things I do overall because he understands where I’m at right now.”
He added: “I always try to bring a different energy and a different level of comfortability within anybody I’m around. I always want to make sure my impact is felt and always have positive energy. That’s why I never understand the negative stuff about me because if anybody met me, I’m a great guy.”
There’s now a clear path for Sanders to potentially take his first snap with the 40-year-old Flacco being traded to a Bengals team in desperate need of solid quarterback play.
Sanders had been serving as the team’s No. 3 QB after Gabriel replaced Flacco as the starter, and this move elevated him to the backup role.
With the two rookies now headlining the Browns’ room, it’s not unreasonable to think there’s a path where Sanders plays this season.
The Browns (1-4) are clearly building for the future, and Gabriel is not viewed as a can’t-miss prospect.
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He completed 19 of 33 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns in his first start last Sunday in the 21-17 loss to the Vikings in London.
Sanders ruffled some feathers when he recently said that he’s “capable of doing better” than some quarterbacks in the NFL, a sentiment backup quarterbacks usually avoid saying.
But as with everything involving the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, there will be plenty watching to see if he gets his chance to prove that belief true.
There is the chance that Sanders and Flacco could face each other in Week 18 when the Bengals host the Browns in the regular season finale.
“Ready. I’m always ready,” Sanders told Fox News 8.