WATFORD, England (AP) — Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel seems to take everything in stride, like not stressing about his parents being unable to attend his first NFL start.
They're in his native Hawaii. The game is in London.
“So, fun fact — need to get my dad a passport,” Gabriel said Friday.
Gabriel was selected midweek as the starter for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings, taking over from Joe Flacco with coach Kevin Stefanski
hoping the 24-year-old quarterback can spark what's been an anemic offense.
During kickoff at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it will be 3:30 a.m. in Hawaii.
“I’ve always been used to it, when I was in Florida to Hawaii, a 6-hour difference. Texting family is a little different,” said Gabriel, an “808” — Hawaii's area code — tattoo visible on his right thigh as he spoke to local and international reporters at the team's hotel north of London.
While traveling internationally for your first NFL start might seem daunting, Gabriel said “there’s comfort there” because he was reminded of long flights from Hawaii to various games.
The 5-foot-11 Gabriel will be the fifth different starting quarterback in 10 games, joining Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Bailey Zappe and Flacco. Cleveland is ranked next-to-last in scoring, averaging 14 points per game.
“Preparation allows you to be confident on game day,” said Gabriel, wearing slide sandals over white socks as he spoke. “I even had four weeks prior to this to master how we go through a week.”
Gabriel played in three systems in college — UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon — and was a Heisman Trophy finalist as he led Oregon to a Big Ten title.
“With Dillon, he's unique and he's very mature but also his college career was like no other in terms of experience,” Stefanski said. “He can lean on that experience in this situation.”
Stefanski reiterated that Flacco will be Gabriel’s backup Sunday ahead of Shedeur Sanders, the high-profile rookie who slipped to the fifth round in this year's NFL draft.
Gabriel has played in two games this season — Week 2 at Baltimore and last week at Detroit — and has completed three of four passes for 19 yards and a touchdown.
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