Insider notes ahead of NFL Combine: Latest on Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward's draft stock and Browns' contingency plan at QB

Little more than two weeks after the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl, the football world descends upon Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 2025 NFL Combine. While more than 300 next-level hopefuls work out for scouts, free agency kicks into gear behind the scenes, as teams and agents will meet to gauge interest in players expected to hit the market or converse on those whose contracts run out at the end of the 2025 season. There will also be a lot of talk as to what the teams at the top of the draft might do and who may be interested in acquiring the first pick of the draft. That’s where I will start.

2025 NFL Draft: Where Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward stand

Even before the teams arrive in Indianapolis, the belief is that the Tennessee Titans will field offers for the first selection of the draft, but it’s going to take a large package of picks for them to move from the spot. If the Titans trade the pick, it could happen in the days after the completion of the combine, as recent history has shown us.

The Chicago Bears traded the first pick of the 2023 draft to the Carolina Panthers just four days after the combine. In 2018, the Jets swapped selections with the Indianapolis Colts, moving from the sixth pick of the draft to the third pick, just 12 days after the combine was completed.

The overall belief from people in the league is that the Las Vegas Raiders will be one of the teams actively attempting to trade up with the hopes of selecting quarterback Cam Ward. The team needs a quarterback and wanted to move up for Jayden Daniels one year ago, though it was a completely different regime running the show in Las Vegas.

NCAA Football: Alamo Bowl-Brigham Young at Colorado - Source: Imagn

There are some who believe that if they can’t make a trade for Ward, there’s a reasonable chance that Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders could fall to the Raiders at No. 6.

Teams I’ve spoken with are concerned Sanders showed no real progress in his game last season, unlike Ward, and that he will need a lot of coaching to rid some of the poor throwing fundamentals he displayed this past season. The Deion factor, which I wrote about from Shrine Bowl practices, is a concern for franchises.

If somehow Ward is not selected with the first pick, either by the Titans or a team that trades to the top spot, the Cleveland Browns would jump at the chance to take the Hurricanes quarterback when they are called to the clock with the second selection.

The Browns are in a difficult spot at quarterback, as they usually are. Deshaun Watson has been a disappointment, and his 2025 season is in peril after he ruptured the same Achilles twice, needing surgery both times to repair the injury.

Several people in the league tell me that if the Browns cannot come away with Ward in the draft, their starting quarterback this upcoming season is likely to be Kirk Cousins, who will be reunited with Kevin Stefanski. The two spent several years together in Minnesota when Cousins was the starting quarterback, and Stefanski had roles ranging from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator before he took the head coaching job in Cleveland.

Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons last offseason. The franchise later shocked the football world by selecting Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Penix sat behind Cousins most of the season before starting the final three games and playing extremely well. Cousins, who is due a $10 million roster bonus the middle of March, is expected to be cut by Atlanta.