There will be a new quarterback under center for Cleveland on Sunday.
Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported that the Browns and head coach Kevin Stefanski are turning to rookie Dillon Gabriel, benching veteran Joe Flacco.
“The current belief is that the #Browns are going to make a change at quarterback and start rookie Dillon Gabriel this week vs. the Vikings, sources tell CBS Sports,” Zenitz wrote on X.
It will be Dillon Gabriel, not Shedeur Sanders, who takes over at quarterback to replace Joe Flacco and help the Browns rebound after an uninspiring 1-3 start.
After Cleveland’s latest loss, a 34-10 beatdown at the hands of the Lions, Stefanski remained noncommittal about who would be the quarterback going forward, instead emphasizing broader concerns about the offense as a whole.
“I understand the question, especially when we are struggling the way we are on offense,” he said of making a potential change at quarterback. “But that’s not our focus right now. … Right now, we have too many things going wrong, and we all own that. It isn’t because of one player.”
Stefanski now appears to have made up his mind, choosing to go with Gabriel in hopes that the third round rookie will provide a much-needed spark to the team.
After all, it worked for the New York Giants and their rookie QB.
Cleveland has yet to score more than 17 points in a game this season. Now it will be up to Gabriel, who will make his first career start against the Minnesota Vikings and Brian Flores’ defense—of all places, in London, England.
Meanwhile, Flacco will presumably be the backup and Sanders will remain QB3 and be the designated emergency quarterback. Of the four teams in the AFC North, three of them will have had multiple different starters at quarterback already in Week 5.
Burrow has been out since Week 2 in Cincinnati, with Jake Browning taking the reins. Now Gabriel takes over for Flacco, and in an ironic twist, Lamar Jackson is sidelined with a hamstring injury, paving the way for Cooper Rush to make his first start as a Raven.
The irony isn’t in Jackson’s injury itself, but in the fact that Baltimore now has to turn to a backup quarterback. Sanders didn’t want to be drafted by the Ravens because he didn’t want to sit behind the two-time MVP.
His father, Deion Sanders, confirmed this on The New Heights podcast.
“How in the world can somebody fault him for thinking, ‘Why in the world would I go back up Lamar for 10 more years?’ Who comes in with that mindset?” Deion asked Jason and Travis Kelce. “Where do these guys come from that sit on these platforms and say, ‘You should’ve sat behind and learned the game and developed.’
“When have the pros developed anybody? By the time you get to the NFL they expect you to know what you need to do and do it, or somebody else is gonna get in there and do it.”
Sanders emphasized that young players gain experience by playing, not by watching.
“I’ve never sat on the bench and said ‘I’ve learned a lot today,’” Sanders continued. “Who learns sitting on the bench?”
There’s good chance that if the younger Sanders had been drafted by Baltimore, he would be gearing up to make his first career start against the Texans on Sunday.
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Instead, he will remain QB3 in Cleveland.
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