Let’s run it back one last time. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders started buried as the fourth-stringer for the Cleveland Browns. Then quarterback Kenny Pickett got shipped to Las Vegas, and Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski slid him up to third on the 53-man roster, sitting behind Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel. Flacco held the job through the first four weeks, stumbled, and Gabriel got the call in Week 5.

Which naturally leads to the next question: If Gabriel falters in Week 5 or Week 6, depending on how you want to frame it, who’s next in line? Is it finally Shedeur’s shot? Anthony Lima of 92.3 The Fan doesn’t really think so. For him, quarterback Bailey Zappe will get the shot. “The only question anyone should be asking is would they go to (Bailey) Zappe before Shedeur, and the answer is yes,” Lima bluntly said.

“They do not want to see Shedeur Sanders anytime. It’s why every day there’s a new leak coming from that building about how unprepared he is and how he’s walking around the building not doing what he’s supposed to.” It’s become a bit of a trend in Cleveland. Every time there’s a quarterback shake-up, all eyes drift to one name: Shedeur Sanders. And if you zoom in, the rookie has earned that kind of attention. But not for good reasons.

As Lima pointed out, the Colorado Buffaloes product isn’t doing what he’s supposed to do. In fact, he’s making headlines for taking a jab at quarterback play across the league. “I know if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that,” Sanders told the media. Unfortunately, the capable quarterback has yet to get an opportunity to start for the Cleveland Browns.

This is exactly why the former NFL head coach, Rex Ryan, criticized Shedeur for his attitude. “This kid talks and runs his mouth,” Ryan said. “Like he said, ‘I can be a starting quarterback’ with his arms crossed like this. Get your a** in the front row and study and do all that. If I know, the whole league knows. Quit being an embarrassment that way. You’ve got the talent to be the quarterback; you should be. You should be embarrassed that you’re not the quarterback now.”

Given the way things stand and the way they’ve played out before, Shedeur’s attitude hasn’t exactly worked in his favor. Of course, the Browns had to move to Gabriel before Shedeur. But now, if Gabriel stumbles in the next stretch, the real question is whether Shedeur finally gets his shot.

Dillon Gabriel gets the nod over Shedeur Sanders

The Browns will play their Week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings in London. Ahead of the game, the Cleveland team named the third-round pick Gabriel the starting quarterback. The reasoning was simple: The Browns started with Flacco for the first four weeks, where the 40-year-old QB completed 58.1% of his passes for 815 yards, with two touchdowns and six interceptions, dropping 3 out of four games.

Fast forward to now, and Gabriel is ready for the QB1 challenge. Ahead of the Vikings game, the rookie spoke to the media about the starting opportunity in his rookie season. “You wait for the perfect time, you’re gonna wait a whole lifetime,” he said. “So for me, I’ve always been ready.” There’s definitely some optimism about Gabriel as the Browns try to turn around their struggling season with him under center.

The Oregon Ducks product carried his team to the Big Ten championship in 2024 while passing for 3,857 yards and 30 touchdowns. While it’s still too early to make any predictions, Cleveland is clearly focused on fixing its biggest problem in 2025: turnovers. But that’s not exactly Gabriel’s worry. Over six years in college, he threw just 32 interceptions in 64 games, averaging only half a pick per game. But we’ll see how Week 5 turns out. Will Gabriel continue, or will Shedeur get a chance?