Browns legend calls for team to play Shedeur Sanders over Dillon Gabriel

A major question facing the Cleveland Browns this season is whether they will give rookie fifth-round quarterback Shedeur Sanders the starting nod.

The Browns have started two quarterbacks through seven games this season: Joe Flacco (Weeks 1-4) and third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel (Weeks 5-7).

Gabriel will make his fourth start of the season this Sunday against the New England Patriots. Following this game, the Browns will have their bye week, which could pave the way for a change at quarterback if Gabriel struggles.

Gabriel has a 1-2 record as a starter, with his first win coming over the Miami Dolphins last Sunday.

Although Gabriel hasn't thrown an interception so far this season, he hasn't exactly been setting the field on fire either. In five games, he's accumulated 546 passing yards and thrown three touchdowns, with one of those scores coming during garbage time in the second game against the Baltimore Ravens.

There's a chance Sanders could give Cleveland a little more juice, and former Browns star Josh Cribbs would like to see Sanders see the field soon.

"Not because Dillon is doing so bad, because he's not doing good enough," Cribbs said on Thursday during BIGPLAY's "Top Dawg Show."

.@JoshCribbs16 makes his case for why Shedeur Sanders should see the field SOON. #DawgPound

"Not because Dillon is doing so bad, because he's not doing good ENOUGH."

Presented by @nefdirect https://t.co/sdZK7CLBHE pic.twitter.com/Yk1E7WnBgt
— The Top Dawgs Show (@TopDawgShow) October 23, 2025

However, it doesn't seem like Sanders will be in Cleveland's plans soon unless Gabriel gets injured.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski stated on Wednesday that Sanders isn't getting first-team reps at practice.

"With a young quarterback, with Dillon starting, you want to make sure he gets a lot of the reps, Stefanski said, via ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi. It's different when you have a veteran with Joe," said Stefanski, who also noted that Sanders is "still getting reps in a bunch of periods."

It's hard to give Sanders first-team reps when Gabriel, who was drafted in the same draft two rounds earlier, is still trying to learn the NFL game as well.

Cleveland will need to get a good look at Sanders sometime this season if it doesn't think Gabriel is its franchise quarterback of the future.

With the Browns holding two first-round picks next spring and likely in a position to draft a quarterback with one of those selections, the team needs to determine whether to take a quarterback or let Sanders take the reins as QB1 in 2026.

The Browns still have nine games left after this week, and maybe during the bye week, the coaches will start getting Sanders ready to start, possibly sometime in late November or early December.