The Cleveland Browns are a quarterback haven. It’s the QB port of call where guys of all cultures and creeds come to get paid, then move along to somewhere else after successes and failures.
How many signal-callers have started for them since they re-entered the NFL in 1999? Last weekend, rookie Dillon Gabriel started against the Minnesota Vikings, a 21-17 loss across the pond in London. Gabriel became the 41st starting QB since The Return.
In 2023, the franchise tied a record with the 1987 New England
Patriots for the most starting quarterbacks in a single season with five. Then, the Browns broke a record the following year for the greatest number of starters in a two-year span with nine.
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This week, veteran Joe Flacco was traded to division foe the Cincinnati Bengals. He had been the starter for the first four games, then was benched for the Vikings contest as Cleveland slipped to 1-4-0 behind the 2-3-0 Bengals.
It wasn’t quite certain what would happen in the quarterback room after the Minnesota game. Would Gabriel continue as the starter? Would Flacco be inserted again? Maybe the two would flip-flop every other game? Or perhaps the hot hand would play until he cooled, and then the other one would start.
Nobody knew. When somebody asked Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski about where Flacco now stood, he barked:
“Yeah, Joe’s the backup.”
And it wasn’t like Gabriel lit up the joint. The Browns had eight punts, including four in the final quarter alone. Gabriel went 19-33 for just 190 passing yards. 3-15 on third down efficiency. 4.8 yards per play. Still haven’t cracked scoring 20 points in a single game. 10 team penalties. Had a late lead and couldn’t gather a few first downs in order to run out the clock. Another loss with low scoring and few good drives.
Gabriel looked okay, but he didn’t wow anybody. No 400-yard game, or tossing four TDs with one or two rushing touchdowns to add to the bounty. Just another average game from an average quarterback performance.
Now, he may develop into something spectacular. We will see. For now, he has started all of one NFL game.
Now that Flacco has been shipped off, this means he isn’t going to be the backup any longer. Which suits him. Because he had conversations just last week about whether he was going to start games again for the Browns or hold the clipboard on game days.
He has been the backup with the New York Jets, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Denver Broncos. And since his time playing is winding down, Flacco decided that playing backup just isn’t for him.
So, he is now in Cincinnati. And this weekend, he will try to defeat a team that he has already beaten this season: the Green Bay Packers. What are the odds of that ever happening before? We have all heard of pro baseball players who got traded during a game and walked over to the other dugout to begin their tenure with their new club. But in pro football? Play and beat the same team that is not in your division in the same season?
This all brings us to Shedeur Sanders. No, really – it does.
With Flacco gone, and QB2 Gabriel being elevated to the starting position, Sanders was listed on the depth chart as QB3 ever since the season began. Every game, he was listed as inactive, which meant he was the emergency quarterback and could end up in the game, but only after both the two guys in front of him became injured.
Five games. Five inactive designations. He could warm up, sit in the locker room before the game, stand along the sidelines, be involved in the offensive flow of the game, sit on one of those awesome air-conditioned benches, enter the locker room during halftime, then go onto the playing field after the game. But play? Nope.
Sanders started in training camp as QB5 while Deshaun Watson was still in limbo, then was kept on the final cut and designated as QB3. Suddenly, the backup is traded. A friend and mentor are gone. All of a sudden, this should elevate Sanders to QB2, right?
Makes sense? Everyone just slides up one? Then bring up the practice squad QB, Bailey Zappe, who has nine NFL starts, to the main roster and label him QB3, eh?
Not so fast.
At Wednesday’s practice, Stefanski did not commit to Sanders being his official backup to Gabriel against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Come again?
When asked, Stefanski stated:
“Still working through all roster type of things. I always have to be mindful of our players and our players’ development. I want to make sure that I’m always doing what’s best for our players and, of course, our team. I’ll let the week play out, make a decision later on that.”
The Browns have had both Gabriel and Sanders for weeks and weeks of training camp, OTAs, mini-camps, preseason games, and now five weeks of practices and actual games. They know what each player’s strengths and weaknesses are. They had Zappe on their roster last year and know what his skillset is all about as well. They know these three players.
So, why does Stefanski need one more week to analyze the pecking order of these young men? If Zappe is the superior quarterback, why has he been on the practice squad and Sanders on the roster all this time?
Makes no sense. Just announce that Sanders moves up and either bring up Zappe, or find another QB and sign him to the main roster, and keep Zappe where he is.
The coaching staff knows QB Tyler Huntley, who is on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad. It is an option that only takes a phone call. Former Tennessee star Hendon Hooker is on the practice squad of the Carolina Panthers. Former Ohio State Buckeye Kyle McCord is on the Philadelphia Eagles PS. Veteran C.J. Beathard is on the Detroit Lions practice squad. Bryce Perkins was named 2025 All-UFL, competed in Panthers’ camp this year, and is currently available.
Which means there are plenty of options for QB3. But why re-shuffle the deck with his QB room? Stefanski continued (Editor’s note: Seemed clear in the press conference that Stefanski wants what is best for Sanders and isn’t just going to make him the backup just to make him the backup):
“I wouldn’t say there’s one thing you need to see [from Sanders]. In my role, I have to do what’s best for our players, our team, and I’m very, very invested in our player development, our young players’ development, our quarterback development. So, any decision I make, I want to just make sure that I’m doing what’s right for our players.”
Flacco started the first four games with an offense that could not move the ball or score points, and was wearing down this sterling defense. Several fourth-quarter collapses are attributed to defensive players remaining on the field for far too many plays and not getting enough rest when the offense punts the ball eight times in a game. That is just common knowledge in football.
When Flacco was benched, there was no question who would sub for him. Gabriel was listed as the backup on the depth chart. That is why teams have depth charts in the first place. It makes players work harder to take over someone else’s spot and eventually work their way into a starting position. Depth charts are motivating tools.
There is so much stigma with Sanders. His fans are clamoring that he is a superstar being grounded and ignored. They point to his 74% completion average in college and the excitement he brings as a runner and a passer. His detractors point to him still being a developmental talent who needs at least a full season of grooming before he can compete on the big stage, not to mention his immaturity.
Is there a guarantee that Gabriel will be something special? No. Is he already the future of the franchise? The Browns’ coaching staff has seen him play in two games in mop-up situations and then the full Vikings game. Brian Sipe did not start full-time until his third season. It took Joe Montana a season and a half before he was inserted as the starter.
Remember when Dorian Thompson-Robinson was the darling of the preseason in his rookie campaign? Everyone oohed and aahed and praised Browns GM Andrew Berry for finding this fantastic gem in the later rounds. DTR then found out what a first-team defense was really like when the games counted.
Exactly what is supposed to happen at Wednesday’s practice and then Thursday that would change the lineup of the QB depth chart going into Sunday’s game? Technically, Zappe must be added to the team’s active roster to be the emergency quarterback, but not to be the backup, which is a little detail that could be impacting the decision-making.
What do you think should happen at the backup QB spot for Week 6? What do you think will happen?
Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below
