Sportsnaut
As Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski admitted, the Joe Flacco trade caught them by surprise. Now that Dillon Gabriel is the starter, Flacco’s departure won’t impact the Browns’ game plans going forward; it does have a big effect on the quarterback room in Cleveland.
Flacco had been operating as Gabriel’s backup quarterback, ready to take over if an injury occurred. Now that he’s gone, the only other quarterback on the active roster is Shedeur Sanders. So, that automatically makes Sanders Gabriel’s backup QB by default, right? Not exactly.
According to Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, the team is still deciding whether Sanders, practice squad member Bailey Zappe, or even someone else will be Gabriel’s backup on Sunday.
“Still working through all roster-type things…with young players, I’m always mindful of their development,” Stefanski said. “Let the week play out and make a decision later on.”
We can’t imagine anyone other than Sanders or Zappe acting as Gabriel’s backup. As far as we know, Deshaun Watson still isn’t ready to return from a December Achilles tear that required surgery.
In other words, it would come as a surprise if the Browns didn’t have Sanders acting as Gabriel’s top backup on Sunday against the Packers. But perhaps Stefanski would prefer that the job go to Zappe, who has three years of experience, including nine NFL starts.
As he indicated, Stefanski seems to be leaving it up to competition, allowing the situation to play itself out throughout practices later this week. If Sanders or Zappe appear outwardly more prepared than the other, it could win them a backup job on Sunday.
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