Browns' QB question: Stay the course with Dillon Gabriel or give Shedeur Sanders a shot?

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BEREA, Ohio (AP) — In another disappointing Browns season marked by the ongoing struggles to find a reliable quarterback, Cleveland faces a question: Stay with Dillon Gabriel or give Shedeur Sanders a shot?

With the Browns at 2-6 entering their bye week, it is more a matter of when Sanders — their highly publicized, fifth-round draft pick — will take his first NFL snaps and get his first start. Presumably, it will happen sometime between now and the Jan. 4 season finale at Cincinnati.

As Kevin Stefanski, his coaching staff and the front office assess the first half of the Browns' season, much of their time will be spent trying to fix a punchless offense whose problems go beyond who is under center.

“I think it’s by position we have to be better and we have to put our players in better spots, if you will, and that includes every position. So, we’ll look at all of it this week and make a decision coming out of the bye,” Stefanski said on Monday.

When it comes to Sanders, Stefanski has said, “Honestly, my focus is where we are right now. That’s not my focus.”

Sanders has mainly practiced with the scout team, moving from third-string to backup after Joe Flacco was traded to Cincinnati.

Another variable could be Deshaun Watson, who was thought to be out for the season after a second Achilles tendon injury in January. Watson has recently posted videos on social media showing him working out on the indoor field at the Browns’ facility.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin isn't the only one wondering why the Browns were quick to move on from Flacco.

The veteran was benched after starting Cleveland’s first four games. Flacco had an NFL-low 60.3 passer rating, the league’s second-worst completion rate (58.1%), and six interceptions when the Browns gave Gabriel a shot.

Gabriel’s numbers haven’t been much better. He has the third-lowest passer rating (75.8) and the fourth-worst completion rate in October (59.4%). He has thrown for four touchdowns and has a pair of interceptions.

A different story has unfolded for Flacco since his move to Cincinnati on Oct. 7. In his first three starts with the Bengals, he has a 100.1 passer rating, a 64.3% completion rate, and has thrown for seven touchdowns with no interceptions.

The difference? Flacco now has two game-breaking receivers: Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase leads the league with 70 receptions and has at least 10 catches in all three games Flacco has started.

As for Cleveland's receivers? Jerry Jeudy has a league-high eight dropped passes. Overall, the Browns are tied for second with 14 drops.

Those struggles were clear in last Sunday’s 32-13 loss to New England. Cleveland’s wide receivers had only two of the team’s 21 receptions. Jeudy had none on his two targets. Tight ends Harold Fannin Jr. and David Njoku combined for 10 catches, including both touchdowns. Three running backs accounted for the other nine.

The result is a nonexistent downfield passing attack. Gabriel is 1 for 8 on passes at least 20 yards from the line of scrimmage.

Rookie Quinshon Judkins has given the running game a spark with eight carries of at least 12 yards. However, because of Cleveland's persistent passing struggles, teams have focused on stopping the second-round pick, who missed training camp and the first regular-season game due to an off-the-field matter.

No matter who has been under center, the Browns often fall behind the chains. Their 35.5% successful play rate — gaining at least 4 yards on first down, half the needed yards on second, and converting on third or fourth — is the worst in the league.

Cleveland’s 8.39 average yards to go on second down is the league’s second-highest. On 70.3% of those plays, they faced at least 7 yards — nearly 10% above league average.

As a result, the Browns have gone three-and-out on 25.6% of possessions, the league’s fourth-highest rate. Under Gabriel, that figure jumps to a league-leading 29.5%.

Stefanski — a two-time Coach of the Year — faces ongoing questions about turning play-calling duties over to first-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. So far, he has opted to stay the course.

The question for the Browns is whether switching to Sanders or Watson would actually spark improvement, or if the team must make more wholesale adjustments to its offense.

Sanders has the athleticism and was among the most accurate quarterbacks in the nation last year at Colorado with a 74% completion rate. The Browns must evaluate whether he is up to speed with play-calling and making changes on the fly.

“He’s working hard and really learning by the day, by the week. He’s doing a nice job of getting the most out of each and every day and feeling more comfortable with the system,” quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave said last week.

If Watson returns, he'd bring a veteran presence to the huddle, but he is 9-10 as Cleveland’s starter. He is also reviled by fans after the Browns sent three first-round picks to Houston for him in 2022 and then signed him to a massive contract that will go down as one of the worst in NFL history.

Whoever the Browns decide to go with, the offense will look different when they take the field on Nov. 9 against the New York Jets. Jeudy and many of the veteran starters on the offensive line could be on other rosters by Tuesday's NFL trade deadline.

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