Daniel OyefusiOct 8, 2025, 12:33 PM ETCloseDaniel Oyefusi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN. Prior to ESPN, he covered the Miami Dolphins for the Miami Herald, as well as the Baltimore Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.Follow on X
Louis Riddick: Shedeur Sanders needs to be elevated to Browns’ No. 2 QB (1:05)Louis Riddick and Domonique Foxworth sound off on the Browns’ quarterback situation after trading away Joe Flacco. (1:05)
BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski on Wednesday was noncommittal on whether rookie Shedeur Sanders — or practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe — would be the team’s backup quarterback in the aftermath of trading Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Stefanski also would not say if the team would sign Zappe to the active roster ahead of Sunday’s game so that one of the backups could serve as the inactive emergency quarterback.
Last week, Stefanski confirmed that Gabriel received reps with the starting offense during the regular season as the backup. When asked if Sanders and Zappe would split some first-team reps this week, Stefanski said, “Need to work through it all. Again, really like the guys we have. We just got to work through all it.”
Sanders, the 144th pick in this year’s draft, has been inactive as the No. 3 and emergency QB through the Browns’ first five games. In the aftermath of trading Flacco, Cleveland on Tuesday listed Sanders as its No. 2 QB on this week’s unofficial depth chart.
“I wouldn’t say there’s one thing you need to see [from Sanders],” Stefanski said. “In my role, I have to do what’s best for our players, our team, and I’m very, very invested in our player development, our young players’ development, our quarterback development. So, any decision I make, I want to just make sure that I’m doing what’s right for our players.”
Deshaun Watson remains on the physically unable to perform list as he rehabs from an Achilles injury. Stefanski did not provide an update on if Watson would return to practice soon but said, “he’s doing an excellent job with his rehab.”
Louis Riddick: Shedeur Sanders needs to be elevated to Browns’ No. 2 QB (1:05)Louis Riddick and Domonique Foxworth sound off on the Browns’ quarterback situation after trading away Joe Flacco. (1:05)
Louis Riddick and Domonique Foxworth sound off on the Browns’ quarterback situation after trading away Joe Flacco. (1:05)
CloseDaniel Oyefusi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN. Prior to ESPN, he covered the Miami Dolphins for the Miami Herald, as well as the Baltimore Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.Follow on X