Lions Trade Pitch Brings Shedeur Sanders to Detroit, Swaps $5.7M QB

One of the craziest parts of the 2025 draft was talked-about quarterback Shedeur Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes not getting drafted until the last day of the draft. In the months leading up to the draft, Sanders was expected to be among the first quarterbacks to hear his name called, and multiple teams expressed major interest in the high-performing signal-caller. But, that didn’t happen, and at the end, onlookers were left wondering if he actually wouldn’t even be drafted until Sanders finally heard his name called.

Sanders got drafted by the Cleveland Browns as a fifth-round pick. It was a little nerve-wracking watching the event transpire, because it was just hard not to feel sorry for this guy who kept hearing everyone’s name except his own called.

Well, just because the Browns have Sanders that doesn’t mean they’ll keep him. The NFL is a wild world, and the Detroit Lions are in need of a more solid quarterback room. It’s not totally crazy, although definitely a stretch, to say that they could strike a deal with the Browns to bring Sanders to the Motor City.

A Wild Trade Pitch: Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns

I know this sounds wild, but hear me out. The Lions weren’t one of the teams in the market for a big-named quarterback in the 2025 draft, which is a good thing, because it wasn’t a great quarterback class. But, that doesn’t mask the reality that they don’t seem to have much faith in their backup quarterbacks, Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen. Last season, the Lions even brought Teddy Bridgewater out of retirement in the postseason to have a reliable veteran to count on if Goff wasn’t able to take the field.

So, if the Lions were to make a trade during the offseason for a new backup to Goff, what about Sanders?

The pitch is that the Lions get Sanders, and the Browns get Hooker and a 2026 fifth-round pick. The Lions have a plethora of picks lined up for 2026, so losing a fifth-round shouldn’t hurt too much. They would still have their coveted first and second round picks. Plus, the Browns have a huge quarterback room, so it would be a better fit for Hooker, who seems to need more time to develop.

Hooker could benefit from being around a bunch of budding quarterbacks in Cleveland. Also, with Sanders, the Lions might have a quarterback they can train during the season to be a solid backup for years to come.

Of course, there might be some concerns of attitude problems with Sanders, but Sanders’ father, NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders, has insisted that he son was prepared for his pre-draft NFL meetings and not a problem.

During an appearance on Asante Samuel’s “Say What Needs To Be Said” podcast, Deion responded to the idea that his son wasn’t prepared, stating, “When you sit up there and say something like he went into a meeting unprepared, like, dude. Shedeur Sanders? Who has had six different [offensive] coordinators, who has still functioned and leveled up every time we brought somebody new in, and you’re gonna tell me he was unprepared? You’re gonna tell me he had on headphones? Anybody who knows my son understands he’s a professional.”