Colorado Buffaloes football legend Shedeur Sander may potentially have an in to stay on the Cleveland Browns this offseason if push came to shove: his relationship with Joe Flacco, who can be a bridge between the “Grown QB” and head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, one of the top beat reporters in Berea, took note of Stefanski noticing the jovial friendship between the 40-year-old Flacco and 23-year-old Sanders.
“The rapport between Sanders and papa Joe hasn’t been lost on Kevin Stefanski, who’s only three years older than Flacco and can relate more to him in the non-social media realm and dad world than he can the younger guys,” Cabot wrote.
Meanwhile, Stefanski himself has talked about Sanders’ bubbly personality, particularly how it interacts with the far more serious Flacco, being an enjoyable aspect about his Browns tenure so far.
“Just having (Sanders) in the meeting room, he brings a great personality. To see those two bounce ideas off of each other, is hilarious. Joe will say a few things and I’ll be like, ‘Joe, Shedeur wasn’t born then.’ So it’s just, he’s got great energy, great kid, working his tail off,” Stefanski said.
From the sounds of it, if Flacco isn’t traded, Sanders may not be going anywhere.
Trading Flacco or Kenny Pickett before training camp in July has been floated, though.
“One of the challenges of four quarterbacks is limited reps. If Cleveland wants to give a real chance to one of the rookies to develop this offseason, it may look to trade one of its veterans in Pickett or Flacco. It's possible that a move could be made before NFL Training Camp begins this July,” SI’s Bri Amaranthus wrote.
Consider Flacco and Shedeur a package deal in Cleveland.
While Dillon Gabriel isn’t going anywhere after being selected in the 2025 NFL draft’s third round, Kenny Pickett could be the odd man out. The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints could both be interested in Pickett since both are an injury away from being in dire need of quarterback help.