QB Trade of the Century: Browns’ Franchise-Altering Deal Would Bring Elite-Signal Caller to Cleveland
When it comes to the Cleveland Browns quarterback position, no idea is a bad idea. That’s true for a pie-in-the-sky scenario that arrived in the NFL rumor mill this week, that centers around the Dallas Cowboys, and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.
By now, Browns fans understand the situation their favorite team finds itself in. Because Deshaun Watson‘s $230 million contract is fully guaranteed and because more than $170 million of that is still in some way shape or form cooked into their books, it’s impossible to move on from the embattled QB. Even though he likely won’t play a single down in 2025 after re-injuring his Achilles and needing a second surgery to repair it, he’ll be part of the roster next season, likely as an IR designation.
And so, accounting of his deal leaves the Browns pretty handcuffed in terms of what they’re able to do to rethink the most important position in football.
The easiest path forward is to draft a rookie QB with the No. 2 overall pick. Doing so, however, requires Cleveland’s brass to feel for certain that one of or both of Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders – the consensus top rookie QBs in this class – is the franchise signal caller they’ve been hoping for.
Even if they do there’s a few hurdles to clear, starting with the Tennessee Titans who hold the No. 1 overall pick. If they take the QB that the Browns likes best, would they simply settle for the other one even if they have other players graded higher? Settling is the move of a bad organization.
Another thing Cleveland has to account for is the possibility that Sanders and his father draw a line in the sand and refuse to play for the Browns, á la Eli Manning in 2004. Deion Sanders has been pretty vocal already about making sure his son ends up in a place that’s advantageous to his career. It’s not that crazy to think Cleveland would be on a short list of places he wouldn’t want Shedeur to play.
If so, that puts the Browns in a precarious situation as the owners of the No. 2 overall pick. What do you do with it?
Ironically, Deion Sanders may hold all the cards when it comes to Cleveland’s path forward, in more ways than one.
This week, rumors stated swirling about Cowboys owner Jerry Jones pursuing Sanders to be the teams next head coach and a conversation between the two parties appears to have taken place. One that seemed to end with Sanders expressing his love for Boulder, Colo. in a statement through ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Absent from his remarks though was anything about “not leaving” the Buffaloes program. That has left the door open on a possible Prime-to-Dallas marriage, with plenty of reporting continuing to link Sanders to the job.
If Sanders were to become the next head coach of “America’s Team,” its pretty obvious that his first move would be finding a way to acquire his son to be the team’s quarterback of the future. And there just so happens to be a team picking No. 2 that could facilitate a trade up to land him.
Imagine a scenario where the Cowboys package together the No. 12 overall pick, an assortment of other picks and starting QB Dak Prescott to move up and draft Shedeur. Yes, it’s all pie in the sky right now, but it’s not hard to connect the dots either.
Both teams would get what they needed in that scenario. Deion gets to continue working alongside his son. The Browns get a bunch of picks to help rebuild the roster and – at least for now – a QB to help them extend their window of contention.
