Browns' Dillon Gabriel shakes up backup QB battle with Shedeur Sanders
· Yahoo Sports
Browns' Dillon Gabriel shakes up backup QB battle with Shedeur Sanders originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Visit afnews.co.za for more information.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel obviously went into the team's preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday on a mission to prove that he's worthy of being the team's QB2.
It's safe to say that his performance in the first half of the game changed the trajectory of Gabriel's career, at least in the short term. Gabriel absolutely dominated the first half of the game, going 12-of-15 for 186 passing yards and three touchdowns, according to ESPN stats, with no interceptions. That also gave him a 157.9 passer rating.
Dillon Gabriel makes his case for QB2 for the Cleveland Browns
His performance really changes the narrative for the second-year player. Before, it seemed he was just trying to get a roster spot in a big quarterback room. Now, his near-perfect performance should give the coaching staff a lot to think about before the 53-man roster comes out.
What does this mean for Shedeur Sanders? Well, even though Sanders helped this team last season and is a talented quarterback, it certainly makes his role as backup quarterback suddenly on shaky ground.
Sanders is expected to be the backup after Todd Monken named Deshaun Watson the starting quarterback. But, Gabriel's performance in the first half could change that. If Watson doesn't perform well as the starter, it's not crazy to think that Gabriel will get the call to start over Sanders.
Of course, this is just the preseason, and the defense that Gabriel is going up against will be a lot more difficult come September. But, his showing was more than promising.