Once the Cleveland Browns locked in veteran Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback, other aspects fell into place. Kenny Pickett was traded away, third-round pick Dillon Gabriel stepped into the backup role, and Shedeur Sanders found himself pushed to third on the depth chart. For Sanders, that means little to no practice reps, and development will probably come through mental work and outside coaching. The real question, though, is why head coach Kevin Stefanski passed on Sanders for the backup spot, despite all his hard work in camp.

92.3 The Fan’s Ken Carman broke down the decision. His analysis revealed exactly why Stefanski chose Dillon Gabriel over Shedeur… and it had nothing to do with talent. “Because when Dillon Gabriel goes in, if he has to go in sooner because of injury, if he has to be thrust into a position, he is going to do exactly as Kevin says. There’s already the knowledge of the offense. So, he’ll be able to do it.

“It’s not that Shedeur will go out on his own and completely defy Kevin Stefanski. It’s that they might now trust him enough to follow the instructions implicitly. He may not know the offense well enough just yet to be able to do that.” Carman might be onto something. Here’s why:

1. Back in Jackson State and Colorado, Sanders played in a rather simplified offense. He tasted success there, but NFL offenses are comparatively complex, and it takes time to learn.
2. He didn’t receive any first-team reps with the Browns during training camp. In fact, the closest he got to first-team reps was when he worked with the second-team offense against the No. 1 defense. Instead, Flacco, Pickett, and Gabriel took turns with the starting offense.

Carman elaborated on Gabriel’s appeal: “For Dillon, there’s already that knowledge of the offense where if things go bad with Joe, if there’s an injury, and I know that Dillon’s slight, but man, he’s going to be able to do exactly as he’s told.” That willingness to sacrifice personal glory for system adherence became Gabriel’s trump card.

But it doesn’t end there. Not only has Gabriel been reliable, but during his tenure with the Ducks, he worked under offensive coordinator Will Stein’s high-tempo offensive schemes. His scoring drives under the coach witnessed a pattern of no-huddle plays in quick succession. That speed will ultimately help him succeed with the Browns. After all, it translated best in his two-minute drills in the preseason games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams.

Plus, Stefanski’s spread wide-zone offense is akin to Stein’s.

Kevin Stefanski explained the decision!

Stefanski cleaned house on Monday. And the August 26 announcement confirmed Gabriel as the backup. However, his reasoning remained diplomatic. “I think you factor in everything, truly. You look at it from a bunch of different angles. We made the decision and feel comfortable with Dillon serving that role,” the head coach stated. Behind those careful words lay a preference for predictability over potential.

The Browns traded Kenny Pickett to the Raiders for a 2026 fifth-rounder and handed Gabriel the backup job. That left Shedeur Sanders at QB3. Gabriel threw for 272 yards on 25-of-37 passing with solid decision-making in two preseason games. On the other hand, Sanders managed 152 yards on 17-of-29 attempts in two preseason games. While both rookies had their moments, Gabriel’s consistency won.

“It’s such an all-encompassing evaluation,” Stefanski told reporters. “Everything the guys did in the games was important. We also saw a lot of them out here in practice and how they are at their craft. He’s certainly somebody that we think is getting better and better.” Gabriel’s college track record probably sealed it. Six seasons across UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon witnessed him record a 65.2% completion rate, 18,722 passing yards, 155 touchdown passes against 32 picks. He added 1,209 rushing yards and 33 rushing touchdowns for good measure.

Cleveland wasn’t shopping for a project that came with fanfare. That was always the case; especially behind an aging starter. What do you think?