CLEVELAND BROWNS coach Kevin Stefanski has given his decision on who his starting quarterback will be following Dillon Gabriel’s NFL debut.
The 43-year-old withdrew veteran signal caller Joe Flacco while facing a hopeless scoreline of 41-10 in the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
The Cleveland Browns have decided on their starting quarterback after a difficult start to the season[/caption]
Rookie Dillon Gabriel made his NFL debut on Sunday and showed promising signs[/caption]
However, Flacco will remain their starter as they look to reverse their early-season form[/caption]
Rookie quarterback Gabriel got his first minutes in the league, and used them to notch 19 yards from three attempts and three completions.
He also threw a peach to Dylan Sampson for his first career touchdown, clawing back some points towards a final score of 41-17 in favour of the Ravens.
The 24-year-old’s potential and positive early signs have led some Browns fans to call for him to start following Flacco’s struggles on Sunday.
The former Super Bowl champion managed just 25 of his 45 attempts for a completion rate of 55 per cent, totalling 199 yards.
Stefanski’s response when asked if he would consider making a change at quarterback after such a heavy loss was short and blunt: “No.”
The two-time NFL Coach of the Year went on to elaborate that while Flacco did not perform at the level expected of him, the Browns’ focus is to work on it and get the best out of the experienced field general.
He said: “We didn’t play well enough on offense, we didn’t coach well enough on offense, and it’s never going to be about one person.
“Joe knows there’s plays that he can be better and it starts with protecting the ball, and he understands that.
“That’s our focus moving forward.”
Flacco, 40, is entering his 18th season in the league, having been brought back to Cleveland after a short stint with the Indianapolis Colts last season.
The Browns were desperate to fill the gap left behind by the injured and out of form Deshaun Watson, re-signing Flacco alongside drafting two quarterbacks and trading for Kenny Pickett, who was quickly traded again to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The constant movement in the quarterback department has left fans and players alike uncertain of where they stand at the start of the season.
But now the order is becoming more clear, and it was not the news that Gabriel would have been hoping to hear after a promising first showing in the league.
There will be an even more distraught figure in the team following the day’s events – Shedeur Sanders.
The fellow rookie has had a rocky road to the NFL thus far, suffering a shock draft slip from expected first-round pick to his eventual selection in the fifth as 144th overall.
He caught press for all the wrong reasons at the weekend as news broke that he reportedly told the Ravens NOT to draft him earlier this year.
Gabriel ended up being selected 50 players ahead of the former Colorado Buffaloes man, but Sanders and his fans had still held out hope that he would be the first name called when Flacco was called back to the bench.
Gabriel’s introduction and Stefanski’s recent comments have all but cemented the current state of the depth chart: Flacco, Gabriel, Sanders.
Shedeur Sanders’ route to NFL minutes looks longer and longer as Gabriel becomes the No.2 in Cleveland[/caption]
