Dillon Gabriel has earned the backup quarterback job with the Cleveland Browns, head coach Kevin Stefanski announced on Tuesday. Shedeur Sanders will serve as the team's emergency third quarterback.
"It's such an all-encompassing evalution," Stefanski said Tuesday. "Everything the guy's did in the games was important. We also saw a lot of them out here in practice and how they are in their craft. [Gabriel's] certainly somebody that we think is getting better and better."
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After revealing that Joe Flacco would begin the season as the starter, all eyes moved to who would land No. 2 on the depth chart. The trade of Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders and release of Tyler Huntley left Stefanski's decision down to Gabriel or Sanders, two rookies from the Browns' 2025 NFL draft class.
While much of the spotlight was put on Sanders, Gabriel put together a preseason where he went 25-for-37 for 272 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Gabriel was listed as No. 3 on the Browns' first unofficial depth chart ahead of their first preseason game. With Pickett and Sanders dealing with injuries during camp, that opened the door for Gabriel, who himself battled through a hamstring injury to grab the job behind Flacco.
Meanwhile, the team's former No. 1 quarterback, Deshaun Watson, was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, ruling him out for the first four games of the season. Watson is rehabbing an Achilles injury suffered last season and could miss the entirety of the upcoming season.
The Browns will open the 2025 NFL season on Sept. 7 at home against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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