The Cleveland Browns selected Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Sanders, who was a standout at Colorado, was well deserving of the pick. Some believed that entering the draft, he could‘ve gone second overall to the Browns, but the team decided to trade the pick.
Drafting Sanders doesn’t guarantee that he’ll make the roster, especially with the decision to draft Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
Many believe that Sanders will make the team, and others believe he even has a chance to be the starter.
But others don’t, including James Palmer, who The Sun stated said Sanders could be cut, adding that one of the only reasons he might make the team is because of jersey sales.
“Fifth-round picks are not a lock to make the roster, so no, I don’t think he is 100 percent a lock,” Palmer said on a Bleacher Report livestream.” I think he has one of the highest-selling jerseys in the NFL right now.
“I think that sometimes plays a part. Popularity. I hate to say it, but it does often times, especially in the eyes of owners. But, you don’t draft a guy in the third round and cut him.”
Would the Browns Move off Sanders This Early?
Cutting Sanders wouldn’t make any sense from the Cleveland Browns’ perspective. Sure, the team has three quarterbacks on the roster, but if there’s one who has any potential to be something in the future, it’s Sanders.
Whether people want to admit that or not is one thing, but he was great at Colorado, and his 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns proved that.
Still, Palmer believes that Cleveland has a decision to make, and Sanders isn’t a lock to make the roster.
“I think one of the two of Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco will make the team. There’s no advantage will make the time. There’s no advantage between the two veterans, I don’t think they’re both here,” he said.
“I think Shedeur is not a lock to make the roster.”
A Possible Trade to Solve the QB Logjam
While Palmer has his own opinion, others have different opinions. That includes Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, who believes that Sanders will make the roster, and there could be a scenario where the Cleveland Browns look to trade one of the quarterbacks on their roster.
“I still think they look at quarterback pieces like currency and value,” Fowler said. “If somebody goes down, if there’s an injury in training camp, they have somebody they can potentially trade. Maybe it’s Pickett, maybe it’s one of the rookies, but I could see that sort of maneuvering. I have a hard time thinking they keep four on the roster. I think it might be three, and then you can try to practice squad a player or you could try to swing a trade.”
It remains uncertain whether any player in the Browns’ quarterback room has value around the league, but suggesting that they could get anything for Kenny Pickett might be a wild thought.
Pickett hasn’t shown anything to suggest otherwise, so unless the team wants to move on from Sanders, they likely won’t be much in return for them.
