Why the Cleveland Browns named Joe Flacco backup QB ahead of Shedeur Sanders

The recent depth chart was released by the Cleveland Browns and rookie Dillon Gabriel was named the starting quarterback.

This decision comes after veteran signal caller, Joe Flacco, struggled through four weeks of play, leading the Browns to a 1-3 record. The 18-year quarterback struggled with a 58.1% completion mark, 815 passing yards and two touchdowns to six interceptions.

The team's offense scored a measly 56 points, scoring just 13 in the only win of 2025, resulting in the coaching staff look to a new face at the quarterback position. This season, the Browns have yet to score over 17 points in a game.

Slotting Gabriel in the QB1 position comes as no surprise, as he was the backup behind Flacco from Week 1 on. He got limited game action, throwing 3-for-4 passes for 19 yards and a touchdown.

However, the real surprise arises when looking at the positioning of Flacco and other rookie quarterback, Shedeur Sanders.

The most recent depth chart has Flacco as the QB2, with Sanders being the QB3.

This has drawn plenty of questions on what the future for Sanders looks like, and most notably: why is Sanders still sat on the sideline in the deep QB3 spot?

Prior to the 2025-26 season beginning, Sanders was listed as the No. 4 quarterback in the room behind Flacco, Kenny Picket and Gabriel. The Browns' decision to trade Pickett ultimately gave Sanders a boost up in the depth chart, but not enough of one to see any regular season playing time.

In the preseason, he performed well with a 17-of-29 completion mark to go alongside 152 yards and two touchdowns. He did not turnover the ball at all, but due to playing with third and fourth string offensive linemen, he was sacked seven times.

Even though he looked good, he was unable to jump ahead of third-rounder Gabriel.

It has seemed that no matter what Sanders does, Cleveland is dead-set on giving Gabriel the tools to the offense in 2025 and leaving Sanders to watch.

Flacco's benching may get Sanders closer to playing, however, it still does not mean he will become a member of the active game-day roster. With Flacco being QB2, he will be the man behind Gabriel if things go wrong.

That is concerning for the short-term opportunities that Sanders would be given, but not for the long-term.

While Flacco could step in on game-day if needed, the Browns would be very reluctant to go back to him if Gabriel hits rock bottom or gets injured. That being said, the more likely scenario would be for the Browns to give Sanders a start and keep Flacco as the backup.

At the end of the day, Flacco is a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and has put together a very respectable career. He may be beyond his days as a starting quarterback, but he can certainly be a clean-up-duty QB2.

With Gabriel being so young and inexperienced, the simple reasoning to have Flacco behind him is to avoid throwing two rookie quarterbacks to the wolves just five weeks into the campaign. Sanders' best line of development is to be in that QB3 spot to keep learning from the guys ahead of him.

Not only will he be able to experience the lows, but also the highs. He will have a chance to take note of the system the Browns have offensively and set himself up for success when his time eventually comes.

In his college days, Sanders played under his father Deion Sanders at Jacksonville State and the University of Colorado. While being under his 58-year-old pops, he threw for 14,353 yards and 134 touchdowns across 50 games.

Sanders' time to get the reigns of the offense will eventually come, its just a matter of time.