NFL insider offers big update on Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders, Browns plan at QB

Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are battling it out and trying to develop at Browns’ rookie minicamp. NFL insider Jeremy Fowler revealed the latest in Cleveland’s plan at quarterback, featuring five players at this current juncture.

Sure, Deshaun Watson is on his way out, but there’s still Gabriel, Sanders, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. There’s bound to be an odd man out.

Gabriel really impressed Cleveland throughout the pre-draft process, per Fowler. Sanders was on their board too, but the Browns kept it pretty quiet on how much they liked the lefty out of Oregon.

“So they’re going to keep four quarterbacks throughout the off season, leading into training camp and Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders will have plenty of opportunities to make their impression and to try and make the team,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “That’s really their first goal. They have to do that because the Browns are probably going to keep at a max three quarterbacks. Somebody’s going to be the odd man out. So Sanders has been as advertised as far as what the Browns liked in the pre-draft process, accuracy, decision making. They want to see him build on that. But the tricky part for him is they’re really high on Gabriel. 

“They essentially over drafted him in the third round just to ensure that they got him. I was told the Browns were really surprised that the media never picked up pre-draft very much on how high they were in Gabriel. Doing the private workouts with him, with bringing him in for a top 30 visit. So he’s still in a pretty good position right here. We’ll see. Now, I’m talking to people around the league. They wouldn’t be surprised if the Browns try to swing a trade eventually with one of these four quarterbacks. They look at that position as currency, as value. So if somebody plays well in the preseason, maybe they’ll be in a new uniform.”

As far as Gabriel and Sanders are concerned, they’ll be on the team throughout the summer competing for the final QB spot, logically. That’s if the Browns start Flacco and keep Pickett as a reliable backup of course.

So is this really the best situation for Sanders? Gabriel was a third round selection, so he might have a longer leash.

“It’s horrible,” Robert Griffin III said of Sanders’ situation. “It’s an absolutely terrible position for a QB to be in. Let’s get real, people. This is the thing nobody wants to talk about. Shedeur Sanders is in a situation where the NFL and the Cleveland Browns have set him up to sink or swim in Year 1. What I really mean by that is, they set him up to fail. Shedeur Sanders is the fourth quarterback on the Cleveland Browns’ roster. … They drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round of the same draft that they took Shedeur Sanders.

“So no one wants to talk about this because it’s a very difficult topic. Shedeur Sanders is a fifth-round pick. Guys that are drafted in the fifth round typically don’t make NFL rosters. And if they do make NFL rosters, it was because they showed their absolute talent in the preseason and all through training camp and the offseason. But here’s the difference. Most of those guys weren’t quarterbacks. Most of those guys weren’t fighting to be the third or fourth quarterback on the roster. Shedeur Sanders is at a position at quarterback where only one guy gets to play. You’re a fifth-round receiver? You’ve got a chance to make the team. You just got to go out there and show out.”