Dillon Gabriel vs. Shedeur Sanders QB controversy: Kevin Stefanski names Browns starter after bye

On Sunday, Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel made his fourth consecutive start. Cleveland fell 32-13 to the New England Patriots, dropping to 1-3 with Gabriel starting behind center. After the game, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed Gabriel will continue to start for the team when they return from their bye in November, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

In the 32-13 loss on Sunday, Gabriel completed 21-of-his-35 pass attempts for 156 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing two interceptions. He was only sacked once.

The Browns’ coaching staff couldn’t have replaced Gabriel with backup QB Shedeur Sanders even if they’d wanted. Sanders was inactive on Sunday as he recovers from a back injury.

Sanders is yet to play a snap in the regular season yet. However, he moved up to No. 2 on the Browns’ depth chart after they traded former starter Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals. Bailey Zappe is currently listed as the Browns’ third-string quarterback.

In four starts for Cleveland, Dillon Gabriel has completed 82-of-his-138 pass attempts (59.4%) for 683 yards and four TDs, compared to two interceptions. Gabriel hasn’t been much of a rushing threat this season. He’s only logged six carries in his debut campaign.

The Browns are desperate to turn around their season. The team finished with a 3-14 record and, despite showing flashes of promise, have found similar results thus far this season. After the Browns’ win over Miami last week, star defensive end Myles Garrett discussed how Cleveland can build on the momentum.

“One win is one thing, but we’ve got to turn this into a habit, an addiction,” Garrett said. “It’s got to be an obsession to win and win like this. And so, we’ve got to keep on chasing that feeling.”

Unfortunately for the Browns, they were unable to string together back-to-back victories on Sunday. Though Gabriel is expected to retain his QB1 title after the Browns’ bye next week, he may not be the team’s starter for the remainder of the entire season. Earlier this month, Tony Rizzo of The Tony Rizzo Show reported Sanders will start the final four games of the year, possibly earlier.

“I was told by two different sources, one said Shedeur will start the last four games of the season, no matter what,” Rizzo said on Monday. “Unless the Browns win every game through the Titans week, Shedeur will play the Bears, Bills, Steelers, and Bengals. They want to see what he’s got. Another person said he could be in play earlier than that.”