The Cleveland Browns have made it official: they are turning to rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel for the Week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Browns announced they will be rolling with Gabriel over veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, who failed to answer the bell over the first four games of the 2025 season.
But does this change mean that Shedeur Sanders is now the QB2 on the depth chart? As it turns out, the answer to that question is reportedly no.
According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Sanders will remain the QB3 on the Browns' depth chart for the time being and Flacco will be Gabriel's backup.
"Shedeur Sanders will remain the QB3. Joe Flacco is the backup," Schultz reported on Wednesday.
This is obviously a bad sign for Sanders' development. If the Browns thought he was ready to get into a game, he would be getting a push up the depth chart like Gabriel received.
Instead, Sanders still has two hurdles to jump in order to get his chance in Cleveland.
Of course, this won't matter if Gabriel is able to cement himself as the long-term answer in Cleveland, but if he struggles, the Browns must get a look at Sanders.
The Browns are 1-3 and are on the fast track to having one of the top picks in the 2026 NFL draft. They need to know what they have in both Gabriel and Sanders before then so they can better determine if taking a quarterback with their first selection next year is the right way to go.
While Sanders remains buried on the depth chart for now, we would suspect he will get his shot at some point if Gabriel can't get the job done, but the Oregon product is going to get ample opportunity to prove himself first.
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