Shedeur Sanders tied to Saints, Colts trade by NFL vet amid struggles from Tyler Shough, Anthony Richardson

Shedeur Sanders is starting to make a name for himself on the Cleveland Browns in training camp, having earned first-team reps on Wednesday and delivering a sterling performance running Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Rees’s offensive sets.

No longer does Sanders look like an imminent roster cut in Berea. Or a future CFL starting quarterback on the Toronto Argonauts, who own his negotiating rights in the event he decides to head up north for his professional football career.

Sanders may have a chance to play during the 2025 NFL season. It just may not be on the Browns.

Retired NFL veteran Asante Samuel pitched the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts as potential landing spots for the “Grown QB” as Cleveland aims to sort out its four-man quarterback competition in the wake of Kenny Pickett’s hamstring injury.

“He goes out there and does something like he did today, nine for nine, two touchdowns, 32 other teams are watching. Oh man, this might be the first time we see in history that something bizarre happens where a team tries to make a trade for him, like the Indianapolis Colts, the New Orleans Saints,” Samuel said on the “Say What Needs To Be Said” podcast.

The Saints make a lot of sense as a potential landing spot. New Orleans is dealing with historically bad QB play from rookie Tyler Shough right now.

“Tyler Shough might have overseen/directed the worst 2-minute drive in the history of the NFL during situational work late in the practice,” the Times-Picayune’s Jeff Duncan reported Thursday from training camp.

Spencer Rattler may be ready to take the QB1 mantle, but if he was viewed as the future of the franchise, a second-round pick wouldn’t have been used to select Shough this past April.

Meanwhile, the Colts appear to have their man in Anthony Richardson.

Despite Indianapolis’s struggles, the Athletic’s Zak Keefer reports that GM Chris Ballard has no plans to give up on the former Florida Gators star.

“The GM (Ballard) caved to that pressure two years ago. He’s vowed he won’t, moving forward. Ballard remains intent on playing the long game with the 23-year-old (Richardson), even if Richardson doesn’t beat out Jones for the starting job this season. In other words: The Colts won’t consider releasing or trading Richardson, even if his third season ends in disappointment,” Keefer wrote.

Sanders has a sensible landing spot with the Saints. Going to the Colts would put him in a multi-man QB battle just as he’s in now, with no long-term viability to be the starter, considering Indianapolis’s insistence on Richardson.