Daniel Oyefusi
BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski would not commit Wednesday on whether rookie Shedeur Sanders — or practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe — would be the team’s backup quarterback following the trade of Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cleveland traded Flacco and a 2026 sixth-round pick to Cincinnati on Tuesday in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick, leaving Sanders and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel as the only quarterbacks on the active roster. However, Stefanski said he would “let the week play out (and) make a decision later” when asked about the QB2 role.
“Anything related to the squad, I always have to be attentive to our players and their development,” Stefanski said. “And I want to make sure that I always do what’s best for our players and, of course, our team. But with young players, I always think about last week, making the change for Dillon, you have to think long and hard about it, because these are young players that you’re so invested in their development. So, I’ll let the decision play out (and) I’ll make a decision later.”
Stefanski also would not say whether the team would sign Zappe to the active roster before Sunday’s game so that one of the backups could serve as an inactive emergency quarterback.
Last week, Stefanski confirmed that Gabriel received reps with the starting offense during the regular season as a backup. Asked if Sanders and Zappe would share some first-team reps this week, Stefanski said: “You have to work on everything. Again, I really like the guys that we have. We just have to work on all of that.”
Sanders, the 144th pick in this year’s draft, was inactive as a No. 3 and emergency QB through the Browns’ first five games. Following the Flacco trade, 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 the development of our players, our young players, our quarterback development. So whatever decision I make, I just want to make sure I’m doing what’s right for our players.”
Flacco started the first four games before being benched for Gabriel, who made his first career start last Sunday, a 21-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London. Stefanski said the trade “took us by surprise” and that the Bengals contacted the team about a possible deal.
Deshaun Watson remains on the physically disabled list as he recovers from an Achilles injury. Stefanski did not say whether Watson would return to training soon, but said, “he’s doing a great job with his rehab.”
