Shedeur Sanders to Leave the Browns? Skip Bayless Speculates Rookie QB Joining Giants or Titans This Year

ESPN’s Matt Miller has released his official predictions for the 2026 NFL Draft, and it’s filled with hot takes. While fans and analysts alike have primarily been drawn to his mock draft listing the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles as the final two picks in the draft, Skip Bayless couldn’t help but gravitate towards the opposite end of the draft sheet.

According to Miller, the Cleveland Browns will be in possession of the first overall pick in the NFL Draft for the first time since 2018, and they are going to use that pick to select their quarterback of the future. While that may be good and well for the franchise, it’s certainly not ideal for the likes of Shedeur Sanders and the two other signal callers who are all currently fighting for a spot on Cleveland’s roster.

“The NFL tried to teach Shedeur and his father Deion a big, bad lesson by blackballing him,” Bayless recounted, clearly still upset by the mistreatment of Sanders throughout the 2025 NFL Draft. Given the amount of adversity that the former Colorado Buffalo has been forced to overcome prior to even taking his first snap as a professional, the former host of Undisputed surmised that Sanders could be on the move as soon as year two.

“If Matt Miller is right, I’d have to assume that Shedeur would have to beat out Dillon Gabriel to be Klubnik’s backup. Unless, the Browns just say we’ve got to remove any young threat to Klubnik and they just kept Joe Flacco as the mentor, backup quarterback at age 41. I guess they could go that direction.”

Prior to the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders was advertised as one of the premier passers of his draft class. Nevertheless, his unprecedented slide to the 144th overall spot has resulted in Bayless believing that his talent is being wasted in Cleveland.

As Bayless continues to cling to his belief that the second-generation athlete is in fact one of the best rookies in the league this year, he’s now doubling down by stating that any of the teams who were initially projected to draft Sanders would have made better use of him than the Browns have so far.

“This really shook me up to see a projection of the Browns taking their quarterback of the future next year, when I thought Shedeur Sanders would be the Titans, or the Giants, maybe even the Saints, quarterback of the future this year. Right here, right now. Man, what a mountain Shedeur Sanders is going to have to climb.”

After the draft, Sanders managed to have the highest-selling jersey of any rookie from this year’s class. Even though his popularity is undeniable, the NFL’s upper brass doesn’t seem too keen on giving him a starting opportunity.

His climb to the top of an NFL roster will likely be as perilous as Bayless suggests. There’s only one guarantee in professional football that being that there are no guarantees.

Should Sanders hope to prove his doubters wrong and Bayless right, then he’ll have to fight tooth and nail, each and every single day, until his talent is no longer deniable.