About a month before the Cleveland Browns kick off the training camp, the quarterback competition could change drastically in Berea. The reasoning is straightforward, as quarterback Shedeur Sanders has reportedly been linked to trade rumors. At the same time, however, the former New York Jets scout, Daniel Kelly, has a different opinion on those trade rumors.

“Shedeur Sanders doesn’t have any trade value in the NFL,” Kelly wrote on ‘X’ on Tuesday, responding to Quincy Carrier’s post, which read, “if someone offers the Browns a 4th outright for Shedeur I’m confident the Browns would do it After the supplemental draft, that price might go down to a 4th – 5th pick swap, so we will see. I think teams with established starters would most likely to be interested.”

Following an inconsistent rookie year, reports at the beginning of the 2026 offseason suggested that Shedeur was in line to win the starting job for this year. Kelly, however, never believed in that narrative and noted that Sanders posted one of the worst QBRs by a quarterback over the past 20 seasons.

“I don’t think people understand how historically bad Shedeur Sanders was last season for the Browns. He produced the 2nd lowest QBR the NFL has seen in the past 20 years,” Kelly wrote.

According to the reports, Sanders recorded an 18.9 QBR, only behind Jimmy Clausen, who had a 13.8 QBR in 2010.

Despite Kelly’s warning about Sanders heading into the 2026 season, ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Rizzo added another layer to the Browns’ quarterback drama. Per Rizzo, the Browns are receiving trade calls for Sanders, while Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel add depth to the QB room, alongside 2026 sixth-round Draft pick Taylen Green.

“There are talks, ongoing calls about the availability of Shedeur Sanders,” Rizzo said. “The Browns, for whatever reason, don’t think he’s the guy. That’s my opinion, and I’m sure they’ll say, ‘What are you talking about? He’s in a quarterback battle.’ But I’m going to say right now for the record, I don’t think the four quarterbacks are going to camp on July 28. I don’t. Nothing is imminent. But the calls are being made. And I think it’s probably in the best interest of both parties here.”

The Browns didn’t have four quarterbacks last season, as they parted ways with Kenny Pickett. But Rizzo’s belief that the Browns think Shedeur Sanders is not their guy doesn’t align with the team’s depth chart. In a hypothetical world, if Watson gets the QB1 nod in Week 1 and fails, Cleveland would have Sanders as a reliable option, considering Gabriel’s struggles last year.

On top of that, while Watson reportedly had an edge over Sanders earlier this offseason, the Colorado product has bridged that gap against the veteran during the OTAs and minicamps, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. At the same time, The Athletic’s Zac Jackson also highlighted Watson’s inconsistencies during the OTAs.

Still, that doesn’t mean Rizzo’s report is without merit. For a broader context, multiple teams still need a reliable quarterback ahead of the training camp. For starters, the Arizona Cardinals have a bunch of journeyman quarterbacks to run the offense in 2026. The Jets, meanwhile, are still looking to find Geno Smith’s backup option.

Meanwhile, 2x Super Bowl champion LeSean McCoy believes that the Browns should let Sheduer go as he is a “superstar in this league.”

“I think sometimes because he’s at Cleveland, they don’t win, they don’t do much good things in football, and then you bring in Deshaun Watson… you’re not gonna see Shedeur like we want to. Let him go to a team where he’s running the show.

“The kid is a superstar in this league, and he just needs the opportunity to show it. The few flashes that we’ve seen last year as a true rookie, and all the stuff he dealt with, with the coach and add Dillon Gabriel actually thinking he was gonna be NFL player for more than three years, now if you put Shedeur Sanders on a real team, get him some real coaching and some support behind him, bro, who knows?”

That said, the uncertainty around Shedeur Sanders in Cleveland still persists. The only difference is that earlier, it was just about his QB1 status, but now, a trade scenario has also been included. For now, the Browns are approaching the kick-off of their training camp in late July. While head coach Todd Monken wanted to have a QB1 before the camp, it’s still unclear how this QB saga will end in Berea.