Steelers Now
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was noncommittal on Wednesday on whether rookie Shedeur Sanders or practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe would be the team’s backup quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On Friday, Stefanski confirmed that Sanders will be the No. 2 QB against the Steelers. Dillon Gabriel will start.
That means Sanders is an injury away or a poor performance by Gabriel from making his highly anticipated NFL debut. This is also the first game that Sanders will be active.
The Browns traded quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday.
Flacco, who won the Browns starting quarterback job this offseason in a four-way competition, had been benched for third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel in Week 5. Gabriel made his first career start in the Browns’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
“He was definitely somebody I leaned on for wisdom, and I feel he helped me a lot,” Sanders told FOX 8 in Cleveland when asked about the Flacco trade. “He helped me a lot in my time being here in Cleveland and his time being here in Cleveland. Everybody has their own destinies and have their own plans…I’m just happy for him.”
Stefanski said he has Sanders’ best interest in mind regarding how he handles his quarterback room.
“I wouldn’t say there’s one thing you need to see,” Stefanski said of Sanders. “In my role, I have to do what’s best for my players and our team. I’m very invested in our player development — our young players’ development and our quarterback development. I just want to make sure I’m doing what’s right for our players.”
Under head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers have dominated teams starting rookie quarterbacks. Since Tomlin became head coach, the Steelers are an incredible 26-6 against rookie quarterbacks.
However, of those six losses under Tomlin, the Browns account for two of them. Most recently, and the last time they lost to a rookie, the Browns defeated the Steelers in 2023 with Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The other loss was in 2012 to Brandon Weeden. Both games were in Cleveland.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Has Chance to Play vs. Steelers
