Browns HC appears in no rush to give Shedeur Sanders promotion after Joe Flacco trade

Rookie Shedeur Sanders entered Wednesday as the Cleveland Browns' primary backup quarterback. After Cleveland traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday, Sanders is the only other signal-caller on the active roster behind starter Dillon Gabriel.

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski seemed to be in no hurry to have Sanders as Cleveland's QB2 for Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1).

Kevin Stefanski focused on "development" of Shedeur Sanders

"I always have to be mindful of our players and our players' development," Stefanski responded when asked if Sanders will be the backup for the Pittsburgh game, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "I want to make sure that I’m always doing what’s best for our players, and, of course, our team. But with young players, I’m always thinking about...you have to think long and hard about that because these are young players that you’re so invested in their development. So, I’ll let the week play out, make a decision later on that."

Gabriel is in no danger of losing the starting job after completing 19-of-33 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns in the 21-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, dropping the Browns to 1-4 in Week 5. Cleveland could elevate Bailey Zappe from the practice squad to serve as Gabriel's primary backup in Pittsburgh, or they could sign an available free agent, such as Dorian Thompson-Robinson. 

Both Zappe and Thompson-Robinson have experience playing in Stefanski's offense against live defenses. Sanders was Cleveland's emergency third-string quarterback.

Why hasn't Shedeur Sanders earned promotion after Joe Flacco trade?

A previous report indicated the Browns could keep Sanders stashed as an unused backup until they could give him "a full week of practice and a game plan built for him" as a starter. On Wednesday, Stefanski avoided a question related to what Sanders must do to prove he has earned a move up the depth chart. 

"I have to do what’s best for our players, our team," Stefanski explained. "...I’m really, really pleased with our young guys and how they work. This is not a group that you have to prod into doing extra — whether that’s in the weight room, in the meeting room, out on the fields. We are really pushing these guys to improve, and I see that from Shedeur. I see that from all these young guys, which is the fun part for us as coaches, to see a lot of the work that you’re putting in — that’s showing up in how these guys are performing."

Things change quickly in the NFL, but it seemed as of Wednesday afternoon that Sanders still wasn't close to making his regular-season debut. Meanwhile, ESPN BET had the Steelers as 6.5-point favorites over the Browns.