The Cleveland Browns have started the season 1-3, and are coming off a 34-10 loss against the Detroit Lions. Joe Flacco, who has started all four games for the team so far, has failed to make any impact.
The Browns will now face the Minnesota Vikings in London in Week 5, and reports suggest they’ll have a new quarterback leading the offense.
Browns Set To Bench Joe Flacco
According to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, the Browns are set to make a change at the quarterback position in Week 5.
However, it won’t be Shedeur Sanders getting the nod, as he remains the QB3 on the depth chart. Instead, Dillon Gabriel is expected to make his first start for the Browns against the Vikings.
“The current belief is that the Browns are going to make a change at quarterback and start rookie Dillon Gabriel this week vs. the Vikings, sources tell CBS Sports,” Zenitz wrote on his X account.
The current belief is that the #Browns are going to make a change at quarterback and start rookie Dillon Gabriel this week vs. the Vikings, sources tell @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/UKvkzazXWw
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) September 30, 2025
In four games, Flacco has thrown for 815 yards, two touchdowns, and six interceptions. He is currently ranked as the 34th-best quarterback in the league based on PFSN’s Quarterback Impact score. The Browns will now pivot to a younger quarterback, who they might view as the future of the franchise.
Cleveland drafted Gabriel with the 94th overall pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The team’s decision to select him surprised many, and it looked even stranger after they picked Sanders in the fifth round.
Many around the NFL believe Sanders is the better player and deserves to start over him. However, the Browns don’t share that view, as they will first give the opportunity to the Oregon product.
Gabriel played six years in college, three at UCF, two at Oklahoma, and his final year at Oregon. In 64 games across his collegiate career, the 24-year-old quarterback threw for 18,722 yards, 155 touchdowns, and 32 interceptions.
Gabriel has enough experience not to feel overwhelmed by the opportunity, and the Browns will hope he performs better than Flacco has so far. Going against a tough Vikings defense on his NFL debut will still be a challenging task for him, and it remains to be seen how the third-round pick performs, if he is given the opportunity to start in London.
Sanders may still get a chance to start later in the season, but for that to occur, Gabriel would need to struggle.
