by: Nick Schultz 53 minutes ago NickSchultz_7
Dillon Gabriel will be the Cleveland Browns’ backup quarterback behind Joe Flacco , head coach Kevin Stefanski announced Tuesday. Shedeur Sanders will be QB3 and still dress on game days as the emergency third quarterback.
The Browns entered training camp with four quarterbacks on the roster, but went down to three at the position after trading Kenny Pickett . He headed to the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday after they placed Aidan O’Connell on injured reserve, and Cleveland received a fifth-round pick in return.
That left Gabriel and Sanders as the backups behind Flacco, whom Stefanski already announced as the starter. It will be Gabriel – the third-round pick out of Oregon – who will serve as Flacco’s primary backup.
“He’s certainly somebody that’s getting better and better” pic.twitter.com/MlFv649tsF
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 26, 2025
“It’s such an all-encompassing evaluation,” Stefanski told reporters of the decision to list Gabriel as QB2. “Everything the guys did in the games was important. We also saw a lot of them out here in practice and how they are at their craft. He’s certainly somebody that we think is getting better and better.”
Both Gabriel and Sanders appeared in two preseason games for the Browns this month. Gabriel completed 25 of 37 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown, along with an interception and a lost fumble, during that time. Sanders went 17 of 29 for 152 yards and two touchdowns.