The Cleveland Browns’ decision to trade Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday opened up the chance for Shedeur Sanders to become the No. 2 quarterback for the team’s Week 6 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers and perhaps the foreseeable future. But according to Sanders, the move isn’t all positive for him, as he will be losing a teammate who has served as a great mentor to him.
Flacco struggled to produce in his four starts this season with the Browns, which ultimately resulted in the organization benching him prior to their Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. Simply put, at 40 years of age, Flacco seemed to be suffering from some of the limitations that older quarterbacks face near the end of their career.
But what Flacco did bring to the table for the Browns is a wealth of experience that is invaluable for their pair of rookie quarterbacks in Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
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While speaking with John Sabol of Fox 8 in Cleveland on Tuesday, Sanders shared his thoughts on the team trading Flacco, speaking to the kind of impact Flacco had on his young career as a mentor.
“He’s definitely somebody that I leaned on for wisdom,” said Sanders. “I feel like he helped me a lot in my time being here in Cleveland. Now, everybody has their own destinies and their own plans in life. So, I am just happy for him.”
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There is likely a part of Sanders that is happy with being promoted to being Cleveland’s No. 2 quarterback. But clearly, Sanders did enjoy learning under someone like Flacco who has achieved the greatest feat there is to be done as an NFL quarterback, to win a Super Bowl.
Now, Sanders will look to pave his own path without the mentorship of Flacco. So it will be interesting to see whether he does get to see the field at some point in 2025 after getting one step closer to that goal becoming a reality on Tuesday due to the trade.
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