The Cleveland Browns will continue to roll with Dillon Gabriel as their starting quarterback moving forward if he’s healthy, despite being replaced by Shedeur Sanders on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
Gabriel remained in the locker room at halftime after suffering a concussion. Sanders was welcomed by loud cheers from the home crowd but the Browns were shut out in the second half. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski did not have details on Gabriel’s injury after the 23-16 loss.
“Dillon is in concussion protocol,” Stefanski said. “He got checked at halftime. I don’t know all the details.”
Stefanski did confirm that Gabriel will start if he’s healthy in Week 12 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Yes, but there’s a lot that goes into that (concussion) protocol,” Stefanski said.
Stefanski added that Sanders will be the starter if Gabriel is unable to play. Practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe will likely be activated to be the backup if Gabriel is not ready to go.
Browns Defend Shedeur Sanders’ Lack of Reps
Sanders got in an entire half of play against the Ravens. He completed his first two passes but finished the game with just four completions for 47 yards. Sanders tossed a bad interception on his second drive and also took two sacks for a loss of 27 yards. He finished the game with a 13.5 quarterback rating.
After the game, Stefanski was hammered with multiple questions about Sanders not getting any reps with the first team offense in practice.
“You’re always trying to get your starter ready to play. When your starter is a rookie, those are very valuable reps,” Stefanski said. “When your backup is a rookie also, you do everything in your power to get them as many reps as possible — post-practice, extra meeting time. That’s just part of how it goes. Bottom line, we trust all of our players.”
Sanders took accountability for his poor play but referenced his lack of chemistry with the starting offense.
“I don’t think I played good. I don’t think I played good at all. There are a lot of things to look at during the week,” Stefanski said. “Just getting comfortable throwing routes with Jerry (Jeudy) and all those guys. I think that was my first ball to him all year.”
Browns ‘Trust’ Shedeur Sanders
Gabriel made his sixth start of the season on Sunday. He was booed by the home crowd in Cleveland before exiting at the half with a concussion. Gabriel completed 7-of-10 passes for 68 yards before leaving the game.
There were questions about Gabriel’s viability as the starter heading into the Week 11 matchup. Gabriel’s 33.4 QBR ranked 32nd in the league and his historically low 5.0 yards per attempt was cause for concern. However, Stefanski did not want to entertain any questions about Sanders seeing the field.
“I don’t think it’s fair to speculate,” Stefanski said during the week. “We’re committed to getting better as an offense. Dillon is certainly committed to improving every which way he can. And all the while, all of our players, young players, are developing and working so hard behind the scenes to make sure that they’re getting better on a daily basis.”
If the Browns do have to roll with Sanders against the Raiders next week, Stefanski has confidence in the fifth-round pick.
“We trust all of our guys. We trust them to perform. He’s no different. Playing a backup quarterback role is tough. We trust him,” Stefanski said. “There are things he’ll want to do better, but that’s why we work.”
The Browns dropped to 2-8 with Sunday’s loss.
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