The Cleveland Browns are still unsure about who will be their starting quarterback heading into the 2026 NFL campaign. Shedeur Sanders ended 2025 as the starter, but Deshaun Watson — who missed all of last season — is making a serious push to steal the job.
The uncertainty surrounding Sanders has resulted in rampant trade speculation, especially given how strong next year’s quarterback class is projected to be.
The Browns could ultimately move Sanders to a quarterback-needy team before the start of next season, and there would surely be some interested parties.
Cooper Kleinberg of Pro Football Network recently listed three potential destinations for Sanders, and one club in particular was surprising: the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers signed Brock Purdy to a massive five-year, $265 million extension in May 2025, so Purdy will be their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. They also currently have Mac Jones serving as the backup, so tabbing them as a possible Sanders landing spot is strange.
“Arguably, nobody in the NFL is better at developing quarterbacks than 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. For years, he helped Jimmy Garoppolo play at a high level, and more recently, he developed Brock Purdy into one of the league’s better quarterbacks,” Kleinberg wrote.
“He’s also helped former first-round pick Mac Jones get his career back on track. With just one year remaining on Jones’ contract, however, the 49ers’ long-term quarterback depth is fairly thin.”
Jones is slated to hit free agency after 2026 and is viewed as a trade candidate himself, but would the Browns really attempt to acquire Sanders now while Jones is still on the roster?
It’s also debatable as to whether or not Sanders — who clearly wants to start — would be content in San Francisco seeing as how he certainly isn’t supplanting Purdy anytime soon.
Sanders may very well get dealt before Week 1, but the Niners just don’t seem like a very realistic destination for the University of Colorado product.
Sanders’ status in Cleveland will also surely depend on how both he and Watson look in training camp.
Veterans are scheduled to report to Browns camp on July 28.
