Jayden Daniels has another dislocated elbow and with his season in flux, the Washington Commanders have to start looking at some potential replacements. Marcus Mariota is currently Daniels’ backup, but last year, the 10 games he played in only yielded three wins. The Commanders invested way too much into their roster to settle for another five-win season in 2026. This year, they had aspirations of getting into the playoffs and possibly even dethroning the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East.Â
Unfortunately, that gets tabled for now, but it doesn’t mean all hope is lost. An unlikely quarterback option might just save their season in a way they never saw coming. Enter Shedeur Sanders.Â
Why Shedeur Sanders isn’t a bad replacement option for Jayden Daniels
While I don’t think this is the best option, the Commanders could ultimately land a gem in Shedeur Sanders. There was talk that Deshaun Watson could potentially be making his last start, ahead of Week 2. Then he threw for 238 yards with an 80 percent completion rate and two passing touchdowns. It was his best game as a Cleveland Brown and first win as a starting quarterback in two years. That earned him another week as the starter most likely, which should give Washington more than enough reason to take a flier on Sanders.Â
The Browns drafted Sanders with a fifth-round pick so they would gladly take a refund on that. Cleveland probably has their attention on this deep 2027 quarterback draft class so moving on from Shedeur gives them more reason to focus solely on a rookie quarterback rather than the pressure of playing Sanders knowing he’s on borrowed time.Â
Washington turning to Shedeur Sanders would give them a respectable backup solution
This decision is two-fold. For one, Sanders landing with Washington doesn’t necessarily mean he needs to start over Marcus Mariota. But it does give him a system to develop in. Sanders getting with the Commanders means he gets a system that won’t disrespect him. Mariota is a veteran backup at this point in his career and they don’t need him to do anything other than fill in when needed. David Blough is in his first season as the offensive coordinator in Washington. He was brought in to aid the development of Daniels. Sanders could benefit from learning alongside Daniels in this quarterback room.Â
The Commanders have to find out what their quarterback room of the future is going to look like. Not just this season but moving forward. Mariota is a free agent next year and landing Sanders gives them a young backup that can not only develop, but give them decent play in a pinch if need be. It also gives them the chance to bring in a veteran as a third option to mentor both.Â
Cleveland should move on from Shedeur Sanders while he still has value
Cleveland doesn’t plan on playing Sanders any time soon. Watson got the Week 1 start and earned at least one more start despite speculation that Week 2 would potentially be his last this season. There’s no reason for Cleveland to continue to waste Sanders’ time when he’s proven he’s good enough to be the starter on this team. He may not be a starter in the NFL right now on any team not named the Cleveland Browns, but he could be a player to build around. He could also take the same path Malik Willis did in learning behind the starter, coming in when called upon and do just enough to earn himself a starting job elsewhere.Â
Even if the Browns want Sanders as a bridge option for next year for whomever they draft in April, if they get a chance to get a refund for Sanders, it’s something they’ll probably consider, knowing Sanders probably isn’t their long term answer. If they aren’t giving him the chance now to see if he’s worth developing further, there’s no need to keep him around this season anyway.
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