Shedeur Sanders gave the Cleveland Browns’ rumor mill fresh fuel this week when he hired his first agent, Young Money APAA Sports CEO Adie von Gontard, as first reported Oct. 14.
Earlier this month, a report said Cleveland wasn’t trying to trade him. The new representation hasn’t changed that picture much.
Jonathan Jones of The Athletic talked to multiple league and team sources and came away convinced Sanders is staying put.
“The Browns dealing Sanders by the deadline would be a stunner,” Jones wrote.
Why the agent hire raised eyebrows
Sanders had represented himself since Cleveland took him in the fifth round of the 2025 draft. An agent can’t help with his contract until after next season, so the timing caught attention.
The trade deadline is Nov. 10, and a player without an agent has a hard time working toward a deal because other teams need permission to talk to him. An agent can talk to anyone.
Sanders is also stuck. He sits behind Deshaun Watson on the Week 6 depth chart, and Jones wrote that all indications are he’s further from starting than he was in the preseason. As a rookie, Sanders went 3-4 in seven starts with seven touchdown passes, 10 interceptions, and a 68.1 passer rating, per Pro Football Reference.
Andrew Berry deals backups, but this one is different
General manager Andrew Berry has traded six quarterbacks since 2022, from Baker Mayfield to Kenny Pickett to Joe Flacco, who went to Cincinnati last October in a swap of Day 3 picks.
He isn’t sentimental about backups.
Sanders is a special case, though, according to Jones. Berry is said to have great affection for a quarterback the rest of the league passed on several times, and Sanders is on a cheap rookie deal for two-plus more seasons.
Watson, meanwhile, is in the final year of his contract and has a long injury history, even after three straight comeback wins earlier this season.
That three-game run ended in a 17-12 loss to the Jets, and the 3-2 Browns host Baltimore on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX. The Dawg Pound will be watching Watson.
The front office, if Jones is right, is still watching Sanders develop.
More on the Cleveland Browns
- Cleveland Browns Have Five Ruled Out, Four Questionable for Week 6 vs. Baltimore Ravens
- Todd Monken Knows the Ravens’ Backup Plan Better Than Anyone, and the Browns Could Benefit
- When Will the Browns Start Shedeur Sanders? Deshaun Watson’s December Could Decide It
- Shedeur Sanders’ Mom Reacts to Major Personal News Amid NFL Season
