Kevin Stefanski makes shocking commitment to Dillon Gabriel after Browns meltdown

The Cleveland Browns are 2-6 and their season is all but over.

But after an embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said the team will not be making a change at quarterback.

Coming out of their bye week, Stefanski said the plan is for rookie third-round pick Dillon Gabriel to remain the starting quarterback of the Browns.

Stefanski decided to stand behind his rookie quarterback who had his worst career game in his fourth professional start. Gabriel, who had been widely applauded for taking care of the football, tossed two interceptions against the Patriots.

While Stefanski proclaimed his plan to continuing to start Gabriel, Cleveland's head coach admitted that the team will look at everything. The Browns are heading into a much-needed bye week, which could give the coaching staff extra time to contemplate a change at quarterback.

The offense has remained uninspiring with Gabriel at the helm. The Browns are unable to get anything going offensively, as opposing defenses are selling out to stop the run game. Gabriel can complete short passes – which is great news for tight ends Harold Fannin Jr. and David Njoku – but that skillset is not helping the team succeed.

The Browns completed just two passes to their wide receiver room on Sunday. Jamari Thrash had both catches. Jerry Jeudy and Isaiah Bond did not record a single reception despite several targets.

Coming out of the draft, many believed that the Browns overdrafted Gabriel, who surprisingly came off the board during the third round with the No. 94 overall selection. But all offseason, Stefanski pumped air into the tires of his third rounder, applauding his expansive college football experience and processing ability.

Standing well under six feet, Gabriel is tremendously limited as a passer. And the Browns overdrafting him and thrusting him into action after benching and trading Week 1 starting quarterback Joe Flacco was a collective failure.

During Sunday’s blowout loss against the Patriots, Gabriel was laughably bad. His two interceptions looked like something that Browns quarterbacks would throw throughout the 2000s.

In the fourth quarter, the Browns were backed up into their own end zone. Gabriel felt pressure in the pocket and threw the football away right around the line of scrimmage – which was a safety and gave the Patriots two free points.

It’s errors like that which make you question his processing ability in the first place. If he does not understand the rules under the heat of pressure, and he cannot see the field particularly well, then why is he still starting games? Why was he ever a top 100 draft selection?

The Browns did not have Shedeur Sanders available for Sunday’s game due to back tightness. It’s probably a good thing, as garbage time would not have benefitted the fifth-round lottery ticket.

The way things are currently unfolding, the Browns will need Sanders sooner than later.

Gabriel could put together a nice career in the NFL as a backup quarterback. But through four starts, he has shown no flashes of being a long-term solution for Cleveland’s ongoing quarterback problem.

But the Browns will stand by him. They’ll continue to wander the quarterback desert – a barren wasteland they have been navigating since their return in 1999.