The Cleveland Browns enter Week 5 with a 1-3 record, preparing for a matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in London after a tough 34-10 road loss to the Detroit Lions.
Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco has started the first four games, but the results haven’t been ideal. As a result, the Browns have made a big, but somewhat expected, move: rookie third-round pick Dillon Gabriel will make his first NFL start against Minnesota this weekend.
With Gabriel taking over, fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders will have to wait a little longer for his opportunity to play. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Sanders will remain the emergency third quarterback on the depth chart, while Flacco moves to the second-string role.
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While things can change quickly at the quarterback position, the Browns don’t appear to be in a rush to move Sanders up the depth chart. That said, Sanders says he’s ready and already confident in his abilities compared to some of the league’s active starters.
“I know if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that,” Sanders recently told ESPN Cleveland.
Sanders capped off a historic career at Colorado at the start of 2025 and spent much of the offseason leading up to the NFL draft projected as a first-round pick.
However, the 23-year-old QB experienced one of the most dramatic draft-day drops in recent memory, not being selected until the fifth round by the Browns — and there was seemingly no clear explanation why he fell so far.
Despite that, he’s handled it better than most, showing promise during training camp and in limited preseason opportunities, even while receiving minimal reps behind two other quarterbacks.
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