It just doesn’t get easy for Shedeur Sanders at Cleveland. He managed to bat away notions of his uncertain career as a rookie by turning some skeptics into believers with his 3-8 finish last year. However, instead of things looking better, Sanders is back to square one in his second year.

ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Rizzo reported that there are “talks” about the QB’s availability, believing that Sanders is somehow not “the guy” for the team. However, the possibility of Shedeur Sanders is far more complicated than it looks.

“I think the only way that they would consider trading him is if they determine that he cannot become a quality starter in the NFL,” Mary Kay Cabot said on ⁠Orange and Brown Talk. “If they reach that conclusion during training camp, then I could see them possibly seeking out opportunities and exploring trade possibilities, but they’re not there yet. They’re not even close to there right now.”

It is rare for teams to play the season with four quarterbacks. Naturally, one member of the Browns QB room can be expected to no longer be in the picture. Sanders and fellow backup Dillon Gabriel seem to be the best bets. But Cleveland has a chance to make more money by trading Sanders, because he was more active quarterback last season. However, the Browns would be at a loss too.

Veteran Deshaun Watson, who is expected to be the starter, has not played a game since Week 7 of the 2024 season. Reports during the offseason imply that the QB seems to have found his groove, but there is no guarantee that he will stay healthy for the whole season. And in Sanders’ absence, the backup jobs would fall on Gabriel (who could not meet the expectations as a starter last year) and rookie QB Taylen Green. With the depth becoming this shaky, it is unlikely that Sanders will be the odd man out.

Head coach Todd Monken made it pretty clear at minicamp that nobody’s locked anything in, and both Sanders and Watson have earned their shot to keep battling it out in camp. They’ve been splitting first-team reps; Sanders ran with it on day one of minicamp, Watson took over on day two. And on day three, they shared.

“I would have hoped [to name a starter], but I like both of them,” Monken said. “… It’s really as simple as that. I like both of them, and we haven’t had the pads on. That’s the hard thing.”

It is evident why Cleveland will lean towards Watson to start in Week 1. They invested $230 million in the quarterback and would like to finally get some of their money’s worth. However, Sanders can’t be written off just yet.

“Deshaun Watson went into the spring as the clear favorite, and then Shedeur Sanders has bridged the gap at least somewhat,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported. “I still believe Deshaun Watson is in a good position. … But Shedeur was decisive, I was told he’s got a presence about him that the new coaching staff noticed that they might’ve underestimated a little bit. I expect [the QB1 race] to go into preseason games.”

One of Sanders’ biggest knocks from last season was holding the ball too long. Per ESPN Next Gen Stats, he had the slowest average time to throw (3.24 seconds) in the league. Nearly 19% of his attempts came after the four-second mark, which led to a lot of unnecessary pressure and sacks. He also struggled with footwork.

But the coaching staff swears he’s a different player this offseason. They’re seeing cleaner footwork and faster decisions. GM Andrew Berry called his growth “phenomenal,” and his position coach has noticed too.

Trading Sanders away at this point might not give Cleveland the right kind of leverage. Because in case Watson goes down again, there will still be some hope in the Year 2 QB. Perhaps after Sanders has made his mark by turning things around for himself this season, he himself could seek better offers.