Browns Name New Starting Quarterback For Week 5 vs. Vikings

The Cleveland Browns can't wait any longer to see what their rookie quarterback can do. Moments ago, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that a quarterback change has been made for Week 5.

Joe Flacco started the first four games of the season for the Browns. The Super Bowl champion struggled during that stretch, completing just 58.1% of his passes for 815 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions. His decision-making in Week 4 against the Detroit Lions was questionable to say the least.

With that said, Dillon Gabriel has been named Cleveland's starter for this Sunday's showdown with the Minnesota Vikings.

"Change in Cleveland: Browns are benching veteran QB Joe Flacco in favor of rookie QB Dillon Gabriel, per sources. The Browns were informed of the change this morning," Schefter said. "Gabriel’s first NFL start comes Sunday in London vs. the Vikings."

The Browns had to make a change.

The Browns are averaging just 14 points per game this season. Head coach Kevin Stefanski seemed ready to hand the starting job to Gabriel after a deflating performance against the Lions.

"Browns coach Kevin Stefanski declined to commit to Joe Flacco for Sunday’s game against the Vikings in London, and a switch to rookie Dillon Gabriel appears likely," Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot wrote. "He would only say several times that that’s not his focus right now, and that it’s not about one person. Pressed on the matter several times, he wouldn’t say he’s moving forward with Flacco, like he has in previous weeks."

Gabriel looked sharp in the preseason for the Browns, completing 67.6% of his pass attempts for 272 yards with one touchdown and an interception.

We'll see if Gabriel can excel against a defense led by Brian Flores this Sunday.

What does this mean for Shedeur Sanders?

As of now, Sanders is still expected to be the emergency quarterback for the Browns. If Gabriel goes down this weekend, Flacco would probably be inserted back into the starting lineup.

Could Sanders eventually start this season though? Absolutely. He has made it clear that he's not lacking any confidence.

“I know if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that,” Sanders said, via ESPN Cleveland.

Suffice to say, things could get very interesting in Cleveland over the next few weeks.