After beginning the season with a disastrous 1-3 record, the Cleveland Browns are turning to a rookie quarterback to hopefully turn the tide and get the team back on the right track.
The Browns are turning to second-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel, a first-year player out of Oregon, for their next game, according to CBS Sports.
Gabriel, 24, is set to get his first start against the Minnesota Vikings at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.
Last Sunday, the Browns lost 34-10 to the Detroit Lions in what would prove to be the final start (for now) from veteran Joe Flacco.
Across four games, Flacco completed 58 percent of his passes for 815 yards, two touchdowns, and a horrific six interceptions.
The 41-year-old was assumed by many to be the starter in the first few weeks for the Browns, but his declining efficiency left Browns coach Kevin Stefanski with no other choice.
The Cleveland Browns will start Dillon Gabriel at quarterback against the Vikings, per CBS
Some Browns fans may be disheartened that the team didn’t turn to Shedeur Sanders instead
Gabriel has appeared in two games in garbage time this season, completing three passes for 19 yards and a touchdown.
The choice to turn to Gabriel may leave some fans disappointed that the Browns did not go with their other rookie quarterback, Shedeur Sanders.
Sanders, the Browns’ fifth-round pick, recently came under fire by ESPN’s Rex Ryan.
In a segment asking if the Browns should bench Flacco, Ryan appeared to call out Sanders in particular: ‘[Kevin] Stefanski is an outstanding coach, but why the hell isn’t he putting Shedeur Sanders? We’re all waiting to see if Shedeur Sanders [can be] the guy or [Dillon] Gabriel or whatever… Something’s missing.
‘Something’s missing with this kid. This kid talks and he runs his mouth. Like he said, ‘I can be a starting quarterback’ with his arms crossed like this. Get your ass 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.’
In response, Sanders’ mother – Pilar – criticized Ryan, saying, ‘To young Athletes and Football fans This is what impotent, cancerous, envious energy looks like.
‘This type of Evile goes waaay back – you can cut it with a knife- embedded in blood and bones seeping through all of the rotting worm holes it has. What and who does he really represent?
‘Its’ family and peers should be embarrassed to know and let this on their platforms. There’s no room for this type in sports. Please [shushing emoji] Tsk tsk tsk Enuff!’
