It was easier for the Browns to tap-dance around the issue of their dueling rookie quarterbacks, new starter Shedeur Sanders and old starter Dillon Gabriel, when one of them was in the NFL’s concussion protocol. That’s where Gabriel was at halftime of in Week 11 against the Ravens, prompting the Browns to give Sanders the first NFL game action of his career.
In Week 12, Gabriel was still in concussion protocol when Sanders led the team in Las Vegas, making his debut with a convincing, 24-10 win over the Raiders.
That’s earned Sanders another start, on Sunday against the 49ers in Week 13. Only now, Gabriel’s status has changed: He’s healthy, coach Kevin Stefanski announced, and is now out of concussion protocol. Stefanski was asked what Gabriel’s status is going forward, and was noncommittal, saying, “I am just gonna focus on this week. I am not going to get much past this week.”
Dillon Gabriel Was 1-5 in His Browns Starts
That obviously does not bode well for Gabriel’s future. The team’s third-round pick out of Oregon, Gabriel made six starts after the trade of Joe Flacco, and led Cleveland to a flaccid 1-5 record in his stint. He threw for an average of just 117.1 yards per game this year, with a quarterback rating of 80.8.
Gabriel was graded at a 49.0 by Pro Football Focus, which rates 39th out of 39 graded quarterbacks in the NFL. Sanders, it should be noted, is worse, at a 25.7, but has not played enough snaps to qualify for a ranking.
It’s likely, though things could obviously change, that barring a Sanders disaster game, or an injury, Gabriel won’t see the field again for the Browns. There has been chatter that perhaps injured veteran Deshaun Watson could return to action as he rehabs from two Achilles tendon injuries, and it could well be that Watson has more of a chance to start again than Gabriel.
GettyBrowns quarterback Shedeur Sanders is the starting quarterback replacing Dillon Gabriel.
Browns Pleased With ‘Operation’
As for Sanders, Stefanski talked about what he saw from the Browns rookie against the Raiders in terms of just running the offense and leading the huddle. That was a strength of Sanders in college at Colorado. .
“Obviously, the first start for any young quarterback, you’re going to want to make sure the operation is how you want it and I thought by and large, it was good,” Stefanski said. “There are things we can clean up and obviously that goes on all of us—that’s the coaches, the players, the quarterback—where we can clean up some of our operation. But I thought communication was good with him all day.”
Shedeur Sanders Outdoing Dillon Gabriel on Deep Balls (Already)
But the big thing for Sanders was his willingness to throw the ball deep, an aspect of the offense that Gabriel was just not providing in his stint as Browns starter. In his six starts, Gabriel was 2-for-8 on deep (20-plus yards) passes, according to PFF. Sanders is 3-for-7 in a game-and-a-half.
Said Stefanski: “Like you mentioned, the big plays down the field, obviously the first one to IB (Isaiah Bond) was a very, very high degree of difficulty with that play. Are there things that he can do better? Absolutely. We have already talked about that with him. He has the mentality that he will make the adjustments to the speed of the game, make the adjustments to what people are giving us, to make those improvements.”
Dillon Gabriel’s Browns Future Uncertain After Health Update