Over the past couple of months, the Cleveland Browns‘ quarterback situation has been one of the most intriguing storylines to keep tabs on across the league. After initially entering training camp with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders, only Gabriel and Sanders are left standing from that group after Flacco and Pickett were traded.
There’s been a lot of debate surrounding Gabriel and Sanders, as many folks think that Sanders, who was billed as a first-round prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft before falling all the way to the fifth round, should be starting over Gabriel. Instead, Cleveland has started Gabriel in its past three games, prompting team owner Jimmy Haslam to address the situation.
Jimmy Haslam Speaks on Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders Debate
Amid Sanders’ slide down the board in the 2025 draft, the team ended up selecting Gabriel with a third-round pick. As was the case for just about every quarterback selected before him, other than Cam Ward, Sanders was largely believed to be a superior prospect to Gabriel, which made the team’s decision to select him all the more intriguing.
Things became even more complicated when Cleveland doubled up at quarterback and picked Sanders in the fifth round. How would the team handle the media attention that would surely follow Sanders after his historic drop in the draft? And who would start between the two if that ended up becoming a decision the coaching staff was forced to make?
Gabriel ended up becoming the answer to the latter question, and he’s been solid if unspectacular through his first three starts, throwing for 527 yards and three touchdowns during that stretch. The calls for the team to turn to Sanders as its starter haven’t exactly disappeared, though, leading Haslem to speak on the debate over which quarterback should start for the Browns moving forward.
“Dillon has played three games, and that’s not a great sample (size),” Haslam said, per Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. “And one of them was in a monsoon. You could say he played two games. Shedeur’s making progress in practice, so we’re going continue to work with both of those guys.”
Should the Browns Bench Dillon Gabriel for Shedeur Sanders?
GettyBrowns’ owner Jimmy Haslam addressed the debate on whether Shedeur Sanders should start over Dillon Gabriel
Regardless of the outside world’s viewpoint of Sanders, the Browns felt that Gabriel was the better quarterback of the two, or else they would have taken the former Colorado Buffaloes star before the fifth round. With that in mind, it isn’t all that surprising that Gabriel has gotten the first stab at making the starting quarterback position his own, even if folks want to see what Sanders can do under center.
With Gabriel leading Cleveland to a win in Week 7, he’s likely bought himself some time to figure things out. However, if he continues to turn in relatively lackluster outings, the calls for Sanders to replace him are only going to grow louder. For now, Gabriel is still the guy, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see Sanders make his NFL debut at some point later this season.
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