Shedeur Sanders will dress for Cleveland Browns games this season, but he won’t be the first man out on the field if anything happens to veteran starter Joe Flacco.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced Tuesday that third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel won the team’s backup quarterback job over Sanders, a fellow rookie and the team’s fifth-round pick earlier this year.
Tuesday’s announcement did not come as a complete surprise. Gabriel was the more consistent performer between the two rookies in his two preseason outings compared to Sanders’ play in his two appearances. With Cleveland’s trade of Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders Monday, Gabriel seemed to be the obvious choice to take over as the Browns’ QB2.
Stefanski said Wednesday that Sanders will serve as the Browns’ emergency third quarterback to start the season. He will still dress for the team’s games despite being the third-stringer.
Here’s how the Browns’ quarterback depth chart shakes out after Tuesday’s news:
Browns QB depth chart
Joe Flacco
Dillon Gabriel
Shedeur Sanders
Deshaun Watson (injured)
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski named Flacco, an 18-year veteran, the team’s Week 1 starter before Cleveland’s preseason finale against the Rams. Flacco is back in ‘The Land’ for a second stint after he joined the Browns late in the 2023 season and led them to a playoff appearance.
Gabriel and Sanders are the two rookies who battled for the Browns’ backup spot on the roster throughout training camp. Gabriel was a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and Cleveland drafted Sanders two rounds later. Between the two, Gabriel had the more consistent performance in his two preseason outings.
Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 7 last year. In January, the Browns announced that the veteran underwent another surgery to repair the tendon after he had re-ruptured it during his recovery from the initial procedure.