Shedeur Sanders reacts to Browns trading Joe Flacco to Bengals

If the Cleveland Browns had a football game scheduled for Tuesday night, 2025 fifth-round draft pick Shedeur Sanders would've served as the primary backup for current starter Dillon Gabriel after the Browns surprisingly traded Week 1 QB1 Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals earlier in the day. 

Sanders spoke with John Sabol of Cleveland's Fox 8 about the transaction that shook up the Browns quarterback room following the first weekend of October.

How Joe Flacco helped Shedeur Sanders grow as rookie QB

"He was definitely somebody I leaned on for wisdom, and I feel he helped me a lot," Sanders said about Flacco. "He helped me a lot in my time being here in Cleveland and his time being here in Cleveland. Everybody has their own destinies and have their own plans…I’m just happy for him."

Flacco raised eyebrows and attracted criticism in the spring when he suggested he was more concerned with being Cleveland's starter than with mentoring younger players such as Sanders and Gabriel. That said, cameras often spotted Flacco and Sanders chatting with each other on the practice field throughout the summer. More recently, Flacco insisted last week that he would "help" Gabriel and "come to work with a good mindset every day and provide that positive energy" after Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski made the quarterback change. 

What Joe Flacco taught Shedeur Sanders about life in the NFL

Statistically speaking, Flacco was one of the league's worst starting signal-callers throughout September. According to Pro Football Reference, he began Wednesday ranked last in the NFL among qualified players with a 60.3 passer rating and 28th with a 36.7 adjusted QBR on the campaign. Flacco now has a chance to extend his playing career with a 2-3 Bengals side that will be without injured starter Joe Burrow (toe) for the foreseeable future. 

"He’s definitely a person that adjusts to any situation he’s in," Sanders responded when asked what he learned from the 40-year-old Flacco about being a pro. "...I always bring the youngness out of him, and he always smiles…(at the) funny things I do…overall because he understands where I’m at right now." 

Sanders has been the Browns' emergency third-string quarterback since the end of August, and that could remain the case even after the Flacco trade. Cleveland has Bailey Zappe on the practice squad and could elevate him to the active roster ahead of this Sunday's game between the 1-4 Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1).