On Monday, the Cleveland Browns finally took the step–one day ahead of the NFL-mandated deadline–of moving quarterback Dillon Gabriel off the injured reserve with the mysterious back injury that cropped up at the end of training camp, apparently just as Cleveland was sorting out what to do with its crowded four-man quarterback room. Gabriel’s four-week stint on IR, plus the three-week practice window bought time for the Browns to sort things out among Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Gabriel and rookie Taylen Green, but surprisingly enough, we will head into Week 8 with the little movement among the Browns’ QB hierarchy.
So we think, at least. Because though he was still technically not on the 53-man roster, indications among Browns reporters are that Gabriel was given more second-team reps recently, perhaps as a precursor to him supplanting Sanders as the backup to Watson on the depth chart.
Dillon Gabriel to Replace Shedeur Sanders as QB2?
The Browns have not publicly said that’s the plan. But ESPN Cleveland’s Browns beat reporter Tony Grossi floated the idea on Monday, with the Browns taking Dillon off IR officially.
Writes Grossi: “When Gabriel was designated for return to practice three weeks ago, Monken said he considered Gabriel ‘another coach on the field.’ It may be the very definition of an NFL backup quarterback, not a QB3. Although media are not privy to viewing the main portions of regular-season practices, it has been widely speculated through backdoor channels that Gabriel increasingly took reps away from Sanders in the past week. Was that to prep Gabriel for a QB2 role?”
Sanders, of course, was in the running for the starting job all through the offseason, as the Browns conducted a very open and public competition to be the starter that lasted until mid-August. when Watson was chosen to start. Sanders has been the backup since, and has played one snap–when Watson was briefly hurt in the Week 3 win over Carolina–all year.
Deshaun Watson Remains Browns Big Surprise
If Sanders is, indeed, losing out on the Browns’ QB2 job to Gabriel, it would have to be because of his practice approach because he has had virtually no gametime opportunity. Again, that is speculation, but as Grossi noted, the question about the QB depth chart remains.
Nick Pedone of 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, a Browns reporter, added that the main problem for the Browns–and it is not really a problem at all, of course–is that Watson has been far better than expected as the starter for far longer than expected. But he’s with Grossi: The Gabriel move could be a precursor to a QB room restructure.
Said Pedone on Tuesday: “I think the conspiracy was that they didn’t think that the Deshaun Watson thing was going to go on for this long. It has, they thought they bought themselves four weeks with the Dillon Gabriel back thing—they did, and bought themselves another three weeks with the practice window. And lo and behold, Deshaun Watson is still quarterbacking the Cleveland Browns to victory. So, I don’t think there is any grander conspiracy here. I do, however, wonder what comes of this four-man quarterback room because it is evident that they did not want to expose Taylen Green to waivers, where he would have been claimed.
“I wonder if they’re getting ready to make a shake-up to Deshaun Watson’s backup situation. Could it be a Dillon Gabriel move? A Shedeur Sanders move?”
Browns ‘Backdoor’ Move Could Be Trouble for Shedeur Sanders