One of the frustrations that most frequently arises when it comes to the Cleveland Browns in this misery of a 2025 season is that the team waited what appears to be far too long to make the switch from rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel to fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders. Gabriel started six games and went 1-5, and has posted a quarterback rating of just 80.8.
Sanders was a fifth-round pick, while Gabriel was a third-rounder, but certainly, Sanders came out of college with the higher profile and the expectation that he would be a first-rounder before his surprise draft-day fall.
Sanders is 1-1 as a starter after a miserable half-game in relief of Gabriel back on November 16. He had a quarterback rating of 13.5 in the game, almost impossibly bad, but has come back with ratings of 87.3 and 93.6 in his following two games. His ability to scramble and to throw deep balls has separated him from Gabriel, even if the results haven’t been much better.
Dillon Gabriel ‘Further Along in His Development’
Still, according to coaches who talked to ESPN, it’s Gabriel who is the more polished quarterback from the Browns. You’d be hard-pressed to find many fans who agree, but that’s the notion expressed in a Wednesday column at the site.
As the site’s Jeremy Fowler wrote, “Gabriel is a good decision-maker whose experience showed up in his six starts, but he projects more as a quality No. 2. Coaches I’ve talked to think Gabriel is slightly further along in his development than Sanders, who has the bigger arm and frame.”
Browns Likes Dillon Gabriel’s Polish
Gabriel’s reputation was supposed to be that he was an already-developed product. But to say he is most developed than Sanders, even at this point, would come to a surprise for most who watched Gabriel’s starts.
He spent six years in college, including five as an FBS starter, so he was selected in the draft in part because he had more polish than Sanders. But there was no evidence that the polish had any impact on his NFL stint, during which he had two games taking six sacks, only threw passes longer than 20 yards seven times and was quick to panic and throw check-downs.
Gabriel was assigned a reputation by NFL coaches coming into the league, and there doesn’t seem to be much dissuading them from it, even on the game tape.
GettyCleveland Browns QB Shedeur Sanders will start against the 49ers on Sunday
Browns Sticking With Shedeur Sanders
That’s not to say Sanders is fully developed, of course. He is still raw but his decision-making has been every bit as good as that of Gabriel. There’s still a very valid question as to whether Sanders can earn the Browns quarterback job for 2026, or even earnt he right to compete for it. He will make his case throughout the season.
It’s unlikely, too, that we will see Gabriel back as a starter this year. And it’s a longshot that Deshaun Watson, who has had his practice window opened as of Wednesday as he comes back from IR (two Achilles tendon injuries), will play again, either. The Browns appear set to go with Sanders clear through the rest of the season.
If Gabriel is, indeed, more developed, that could change by the end of this year.
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