The Cleveland Browns comfortably took down the Miami Dolphins in Week 7, 31-6.
Due to the weather conditions, neither quarterback had a strong performance. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa finished the day with 100 passing yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions, leading to him being benched in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers. Meanwhile, Browns rookie signal caller Dillon Gabriel completed 13 of his 18 pass attempts for 116 passing yards.
The point is, while Gabriel isn’t performing particularly well, he’s also not turning the ball over or costing Cleveland games. This raises serious questions about when backup Shedeur Sanders will have his opportunity to shine.
When Does a Browns Insider Expect Shedeur Sanders To Start?
Sanders is yet to step foot on the field during the NFL regular season, which is leaving fans and the media to project when this will take place.
One Browns insider, Tony Rizzo, spoke with two Cleveland sources during the game against the Dolphins, who gave him answers as to when Sanders will start.
“I was told by two different sources yesterday at the stadium,” Rizzo began on ESPN Cleveland. “One said Shedeur will start the last four games of the season no matter what. Unless the Browns win every game through the Titans week, Shedeur will play the Bears, Bills, Steelers, and Bengals. They want to see what he’s got. Another person said he could be in play earlier than that.”
This is quite shocking to hear. The Browns apparently having a set date in mind for Sanders to start signals a severe lack of confidence in Gabriel. It appears that if Gabriel plays any less than perfect leading up to Week 15, Sanders could get his opportunity to start against the Chicago Bears and onward.
Giving the 23-year-old four games to prove he’s the face of the franchise is a bit unfair, but it’s what the former Colorado Buffalo will potentially need to work with.
It’s worth pointing out Gabriel and the Browns’ offense are performing rather poorly with the exception of the victory over the Dolphins. Gabriel has an impact score of 57.2 from PFSN, which ranks him No. 34 among QBs.
Cleveland’s offense as a whole has an impact score of 56.3, which ranks the unit No. 31 in the league, only ahead of No. 1 pick Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans. Note that the offense’s score and ranking include the games Joe Flacco started.
Fans are undoubtedly hoping Rizzo’s sources are correct so they can finally see if Sanders’ high confidence in himself is warranted.
