Browns Have Drastically Differing Opinions on Dillon Gabriel & Shedeur Sanders as Rookie QB’s Future Put in Doubt

Shedeur Sanders would be waiting for his opportunity to start this year. And Dillon Gabriel will be looking for a chance to prove that he can be a franchise QB. Everyone in the NFL and outside has their opinion about the Browns’ QB room. Bleacher Report ranked the Browns’ quarterback room 30th in the NFL on their five worst list in the preseason. The opinion of the others does not matter. What matters is what the team thinks about its QBs. And do they have the same or varied opinions about their backup quarterbacks?

On September 1, the Browns assistant GM, Catherine Hickman, addressed the reporters. When asked about Gabriel, she looked optimistic and said, “Dillon has been super impressive on and off the field. He is, I mean, extremely, extremely mature, professional. He has a process and how he goes about his craft, and it shows. There’s a lot to work on as you enter this league as a young quarterback, but Dillon has really put the time and worked with his coaches. So, I think I really look forward to see his trajectory and how he collaborates with both our coaches and PD (player development) staff.” Her analysis is spot on.

Let’s look at the preseason performances of both rookies. Dillon Gabriel completed 25 of 37 passes (67.6% completion rate) for 272 passing yards for 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. On the other hand, Shedeur Sanders completed 17 of 29 passes (58.6% completion rate) for 152 passing yards for 2 touchdowns. Kevin Stefanski chose Gabriel as QB2 behind Joe Flacco. It also speaks about their confidence in the Oregon product. By the looks of it, Dillon is the future of the team.

These things matter. And when Hickman was asked about Colorado’s ex QB’s career progression, “Yeah, that’s a tough question with any player after one preseason period, to really talk about outlook. That’s what we try to predict as accurately as we can. But as we all know, that’s a difficult thing. When it comes to what he’s shown so far, he worked at his craft, he’s passionate, he’s dedicated to it. He puts the time in, and those are really the things that you can really hang your head on when it comes to these young players. And then he’s shown growth. He’s shown growth on the field and again, it’s a super small sample size so we got to continue to be intentional with his plan and work with him just like we will do with every rookie.” We have seen him working hard on his skill by trying to stay 20 minutes late after each practice. But now, it’s game time. The rookie has to work doubly hard to make a better impression than Dillon.

When asked about evaluating rookie quarterbacks in limited preseason time, Hickman was direct: “Now we know these things take time. So what is that going to look like at the end of the year? I don’t have a crystal ball to tell you, and I don’t do well with hypotheticals, but I will say that every opportunity we will have to evaluate them, we will take.” Showing they are still taking time to evaluate each on of them on a day to day basis.

That’s a big plus point. Yet, a lot of things need to fall in place as the Browns are also looking beyond this year. Old Joe Flacco starts at quarterback this year. Deshaun Watson rehabs as an expensive bust. Rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are on the roster. What the year 2026 will bring is as good as anyone’s guess.

Shedeur Sanders’ future is in jeopardy

It’s not just a matter of performance. The Browns have been going through QB turmoil for so long that they are ready to stretch the transition for a year. The Athletic‘s Nick Baumgardner made a wild claim about the team having 2nd overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. And he also announced the player they will pick. South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound player has a decent 65.8% completion rate and 21-7 TD-int ratio. But that’s also a wild guess. Because the owner, Jimmy Haslam, stands in the way. He is interested in another bigwig. Arch Manning!

Reports came that Haslam is very close to the Manning family and might try to steal him after he declares for the 2026 NFL Draft. If that happens, then Shedeur Sanders might have to look for a new place. And behind closed doors, it could also start a cold war between the sons of two football legends.

For now, the Colorado product is focused on the present. He doesn’t want to get caught in the rumors and reports. Sanders said, “I think overall as a player, I feel like I’ve put in the work. I feel like everything I do, I try to do it to my best, and that’s all you can ask for.” The approach is perfect. But in the league where every play is recorded and broken into a thousand pieces, he needs to play his A game if he wants to remain the Cleveland hero.