Why Dillon Gabriel Starting Doesn't Close Door For Shedeur Sanders

Former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders may be one step closer to making his NFL regular season debut with the Cleveland Browns.

As announced Wednesday, the Browns are benching veteran Joe Flacco in favor of Dillon Gabriel for their Week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Obviously, Sanders would've liked to receive the nod over his fellow rookie, but coach Kevin Stefanski is still clearly looking for answers at the quarterback position.

“I think the big thing for me is we need to all be better," Stefanski said, per the Browns. "We need to coach better, block better, catch better, run better — all of the above. We need to be better. And I know the quarterback position gets quite a bit of scrutiny, I understand that. But this is about our entire team.”

Shedeur Sanders' Outlook After Dillon Gabriel News

Dillon Gabriel Starting Close Door Shedeur Sanders Cleveland Browns Joe Flacco NFL Draft Colorado Buffaloes Quarterback Deion — Aug 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) reacts during the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The more Flacco and Gabriel struggle, the better for Sanders. However, Stefanski made clear that Flacco will serve as Gabriel's primary backup moving forward, keeping Sanders as the Browns' third-string arm.

"My focus is on the game. Joe's the backup," Stefanski said.

In the Browns' first four games, Flacco completed just 58.1 percent of his passes for 815 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions. Gabriel, a third-round NFL Draft pick out of Oregon, appeared in two of the Browns' blowout losses and completed 3-of-4 passes for 19 yards and one touchdown.

Being a third-string quarterback remains foreign to Sanders, the youngest son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders. During his two seasons with the Buffs, Shedeur threw for 7,364 yards and 64 touchdowns while missing only one game due to injury. Still, he fell to the fifth round of April's NFL Draft and has yet to make his regular season debut.

During Wednesday's episode of "Get Up," NFL analyst Louis Riddick shared his opinion that if Gabriel struggles to get the Browns' offense going, Stefanski may end up giving Sanders an opportunity.

"They don't want to go back to Joe Flacco," Riddick said. "You don't take him out because you want to go back to him at some point in time. If you're Shedeur Sanders right now, whatever you're doing, I'm taking it up a whole other level, because Dillon (Gabriel) is not promised to stay in there. This is really a tryout for everyone because of the draft capital they have next year."

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Shedeur Sanders Maintains Confidence

It may not be flashy, but Sanders must continue to impress in practice as he waits his turn in Cleveland's quarterback room. Fortunately, he hasn't lost any confidence despite a difficult start to his NFL journey.

“I know if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that," Sanders said last week, per ESPN Cleveland.