The Cleveland Browns need something to change after a disappointing 2-6 start, and not necessarily just with the players on the field, but also perhaps with the coaches on the sideline.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski acknowledged as much while speaking with reporters on Monday, October 27, saying for the second time this season that he will consider handing over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
“I need to spend time on all those things, and I think it’s by position we have to be better and we have to put our players in better spots, if you will,” Stefanski said. “So, we’ll look at all of it this week and make a decision coming out of the bye.”
Stefanski, who served as the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings for one season before becoming head coach of the Browns, made a similar move during the middle of the 2024 campaign.
“Last season, Stefanski turned the play-calling over to former offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after Deshaun Watson went down with his re-torn Achilles in October, but things didn’t get any better down the stretch,” Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com wrote Monday. “Perhaps a switch to Rees, who called plays at Notre Dame, where he played quarterback, and at Alabama, might jumpstart the sluggish unit.”
Browns Stand Firmly Behind QB Dillon Gabriel, Won’t Switch to Shedeur Sanders Following Bye Week
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Stefanski could swap out rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel for fellow rookie signal-caller Shedeur Sanders when the Browns next take the field against the New York Jets on November 9, but the coach reiterated Monday that idea is a non-starter at this point in the season.
“Honestly, my focus is where we are right now,” Stefanski said. “That’s not my focus.”
Gabriel struggled in the offense’s 13-point performance against the New England Patriots on Sunday, moving to 1-3 as the team’s starter. He threw his first two interceptions of the season, although he did find the end zone twice on 60 percent passing for 156 yards.
Sanders, meanwhile, was inactive for the contest due to back tightness that he reported to the team on Saturday morning.
Browns Defense Catches Break in Form of Carson Schwesinger Injury Update
GettyLinebacker Carson Schwesinger of the Cleveland Browns.
Because Stefanski isn’t interested in making major changes to the offensive lineup, the Browns will have to rely even more heavily on the defense to carry them — a paradigm that is all too familiar to players in the locker room and fans in the stands.
Case in point, Myles Garrett recorded a career-high five sacks against the Patriots and the Browns still lost by 19 points. Garrett said after the game he would trade the individual performance for a victory without a second thought.
An injury to star rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger also dealt Cleveland’s defense a significant blow on Sunday, as he left the game with an ankle sprain. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network initially reported that the team feared Schwesinger could be out between four and six weeks, though the follow-up report offered a more optimistic outlook.
“The MRI confirmed a high-ankle sprain, but not believed to be a major one,” Rapoport reported via social media on Monday. “Carson Schwesinger will be re-evaluated after the bye to see when he might play.”
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