The Cleveland Browns could be turning to rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel in Week 5 when they take on the Minnesota Vikings in England.
Although it has been reported that Gabriel will be starting, it appears that Shedeur Sanders won’t even be the backup. Instead, Sanders will remain the inactive emergency third quarterback, and Flacco will be the backup, according to Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot.
Gabriel, the Browns third-round pick out of Oregon, will make his first NFL start Sunday in London against the 2-2 Vikings, and try to improve the Browns to 2-3,” Cabot wrote on Cleveland.com. If they can stack a few wins, they can remain right in the thick of it in the AFC North, with the 1-3 Ravens struggling and the 2-2 Bengals being without Joe Burrow for at least three months. Flacco will serve as the backup.”
Although the Browns are moving on from Flacco as the starting quarterback, Sanders will remain the third-string quarterback in Week 5 and the foreseeable future.
Cleveland will opt to have the veteran in Flacco be the primary backup, in case Gabriel struggles or he gets injured.
It also isn’t a surprise that the Browns turned to Gabriel instead of Sanders to replace Flacco.
The Browns scouted Gabriel heavily during the pre-draft process and went into the draft aiming to select him in the third round,” Cabot added. “They liked him better than Sanders, whom they passed on six times before trading up to No. 144 in the fifth round to draft him.”
The Browns are 4.5-point underdogs against the Vikings in England on Sunday.
Browns Coach Was Hesitant to Make QB Change
Cleveland selected two quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft, but neither Gabriel nor Sanders won the starting job.
The Browns began the season with Flacco at quarterback. But he struggled. After Week 4, coach Kevin Stefanski wouldn’t confirm if he would make a quarterback change.
“Yeah, I understand the question,” Stefanski said. “We have to play better as an offense. We have to coach better on offense. It’s not about one person. There are so many things that we need to do better, and obviously quarterback included. But this is not about one person… My focus is on making sure this offense plays better.”
Stefanski wouldn’t confirm Flacco as the starter, as he has in weeks past. And, now been reported that Gabriel will be the starter in Week 5 and going forward.
Gabriel was selected 94th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Browns.
Cleveland Makes 2 Additions to WR Room
The Browns will play Week 5 without two key receivers due to injury.
Cedric Tillman and DeAndre Carter are both out multiple weeks due to injuries, Stefanski revealed.
“Injury front, DeAndre Carter has a knee injury,” Stefanski added. “Cedric Tillman has a hamstring injury. Those injuries will keep them out in the weeks department. We’ll treat them, see how they recover, but we’ll be without them for a little bit.”
Due to the injuries to Carter and Tillman, the Browns signed Gage Larvadain and Malachi Corley from the practice squad to the active roster.
Larvadian was an undrafted free agent in 2025 and made the 53-man roster in Week 1, but he didn’t get into game action. Corley, meanwhile, was a third-round pick in 2024 by the New York Jets.
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