Browns QB Crisis Deepens as Shedeur Sanders Struggles in First Real Action

Since Dillon Gabriel took over the Browns' starting quarterback role in Week 5, one thing has been clear: he is unlikely to be a long-term solution for the franchise's perennially cursed quarterback position. To be even more blunt about the situation, he’s unlikely to stick as even a backup quarterback.

Since everyone but the Browns seemed to realize that Gabriel wouldn’t be the fix, it’s been a somewhat unanimous hope from the Cleveland faithful that we’d be getting a look at Shedeur Sanders sooner rather than later. After a concussion for Gabriel in the close divisional matchup against the Ravens, it became Sanders’ chance to take over the starting quarterback role. If he were able to show anything at all in his second-half run, he would almost certainly be the starting QB moving forward.

Well, there might’ve been a reason Sanders started the season as the fourth-string quarterback, because his first regular-season snaps in the brown and orange left a lot to be desired. Before critiquing Sanders' performance, I will say this: he’s been put into the worst situation of all time. His offensive line is atrocious; he has nobody to throw to; the run game is inconsistent at best; and, most importantly, the Browns organization is a dumpster fire riddled with bad coaching, ownership, and player development.

With that being said, Shedeur Sanders might’ve looked worse than Dillon Gabriel. Say what you will about Gabriel — at least he plays it safe and doesn’t make game-ruining plays every time he touches the ball. You can at least see why Kevin Stefanski was so reluctant to move on from Flacco or now Gabriel.

The sacks Sanders was taking came from horrible pocket presence. Since his time at Colorado, he’s never had faith in his offensive line and is always looking to bail from the pocket. That may work against UCF, but not against an athletic Ravens defense.

Sanders threw the ball into trouble multiple times, and his interception today just can’t happen at the NFL level. When he drops back in the pocket, it feels like he believes he has to make a big play every single time. He has to be better about keeping drives alive and living to see the next down.

There were a few bright spots.

His mobility was such a change of pace from what we’ve seen this year. He made a couple of nice plays with his legs, and I liked when he was decisive and committed to running. It also felt like Tommy Rees was able to open up his playbook a bit more with Shedeur, as he does have more raw talent than Gabriel.

That was an ugly first outing for Sanders; however, you have to let him start again next week. You aren’t making the playoffs this year — if anything, losing the rest of the way is realistically the best outcome for the organization’s future. You know Gabriel isn’t the guy. Let’s see if Sanders can do anything with a whole week of reps as the starter. If he struggles again, then you can target any of the quarterbacks at the top of the class in the draft. Just don’t let your stubbornness prevent any possibility of things working out for Shedeur.