Dillon Gabriel showed he can play at an NFL level against the Minnesota Vikings in London on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to hold onto the starting job for the rest of the season.
In fact, based on a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network on Saturday, October 4, just one day before Gabriel made the first start of his career, the Cleveland Browns absolutely plan to start Shedeur Sanders at some point this year.
Rapoport explained why that’s true, even despite Sanders remaining QB3 behind both Gabriel and Joe Flacco — for now.
“As to why Sanders is not the backup QB on Sunday, there is one specific reason,” Rapoport wrote. The Browns want Sanders to be successful when he’s out there. When he plays, they want him to do so with a game plan that is made for him to thrive. As the backup, if he was forced into action, he’d be running a game plan built for Gabriel, rather than one built to his strengths. Is that fair to Sanders?”
“The expectation is that Sanders will play at some point this season, when he’s ready,” Rapoport continued. “When he does play, it would be with a full week of practice and a game plan built for him.”
Dillon Gabriel Played Solidly Within Simple Game Plan During First NFL Start
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Fair or not, that is Cleveland’s plan. And the team isn’t likely to deviate from Gabriel after just one game.
The Browns also don’t view this as a week-to-week proposition. They’ll let Gabriel go and settle in, getting him operating the offense and playing fast,” Rapoport wrote. “[Gabriel’s] third-round selection was in part due to his 5-foot-11 stature, but on the field, the belief is that won’t matter.”
Gabriel played fairly well Sunday, even if the Browns didn’t ask him to do too much. He completed 19-of-33 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He took two sacks and did not turn over the football.
Gabriel didn’t air it out much, completing 10 of his 19 passes to tight ends, including both touchdowns, and another four throws to running backs. Still, Cleveland was in the lead for much of the game, including until 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter, when the Vikings scored the go-ahead touchdown and went up 21-17.
The Browns ran the football 32 times, creating a much more even split in the offense as opposed to the four weeks when Flacco was under center and averaged 40 pass attempts per game.
Browns’ Offense Hasn’t Scored 20 Points in a Game This Season With Joe Flacco or Dillon Gabriel as Starting QB
GettyRunning back Quinshon Judkins of the Cleveland Browns.
For now, Cleveland can continue to rely on a stout defense and an emerging run game behind rookie Quinshon Judkins, as Gabriel develops and gains more confidence and comfort.
However, with a record of 1-4, the Browns can still look at multiple losses and see clear pathways to which they could have been victories. The offense will need to open up a bit more for wins to happen, as the team still has yet to score 20 points in a game this year.
Cleveland will probably eventually attempt a higher-octane style of offense with Gabriel, though that has to happen sooner than later if the goal is to salvage the season.
It is likely that Sanders will get his chance either once wins and losses aren’t of great concern to the Browns any longer, or right at the end of the window in which they still are as a last-gasp attempt at relevancy.
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