On Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals pulled off an ultra-rare in-division trade. The Browns sent veteran quarterback Joe Flacco and a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft. This means the Browns now have a two-deep quarterback depth chart consisting of rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.

Gabriel took over the starting job last week and played well enough to beat the Minnesota Vikings, but the Browns’ defense fell flat on the final drive. It also means Sanders is now one step closer to his goal of being a starting quarterback in the NFL.

When the Browns initially benched Flacco, Gabriel was named the starter but Sanders stayed as the team’s No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart. With Flacco gone, unless the Browns have a veteran in mind to come in and back up Gabriel, it will be Sanders next in line.

Sanders’ opportunity could come sooner than you think. The Browns take on the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, and Mike Tomlin’s defense is notorious for making life hard on rookie quarterbacks. Tomlin-led Steelers teams are 26-6 lifetime against rookie signal callers. If Gabriel gets shut down, a 1-5 Browns team might just switch things up to see what they have.

This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Shedeur Sanders inches closer to starting after Joe Flacco trade