The Cleveland Browns come out of their Week 9 bye still without an identity under center as rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel continues to struggle, and Shedeur Sanders has yet to play a regular-season NFL snap.
The Browns, 2-6 through eight games and averaging 15.8 points per game (third-worst in the league), announced on Monday that head coach Kevin Stefanski will no longer be calling offensive plays, handing that responsibility over to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
While it’s difficult to imagine the decision will do much to change Cleveland’s outlook this season, it does shift the possibility for Sanders to get more involved in the offense, at least in the eyes of NFL insider Ken Carman.
“If you have four quarterbacks in a competition, the head coach can’t keep an eye on all of them,” Carman said Tuesday on 92.3 The Fan. “I imagine Tommy Rees was working with the younger quarterbacks, working with Dillon Gabriel, working with Shedeur Sanders. You are going to see Shedeur Sanders at some point here. Regardless, unless his back is that locked up, and he goes on IR. You are going to see Shedeur at some point this season.”
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Sanders, the Browns’ fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, previously starred at Colorado, throwing for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns last season en route to Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
He was also a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2024 and left with the highest career completion rate in FBS history (71.8%).
Yet, despite his pedigree and the spotlight that comes with being Deion Sanders’ son, Cleveland has seemingly explored every other option to jump-start the offense.
As a result, Sanders remains at the center of trade rumors ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, with some reports suggesting the Browns might consider dealing him for a position of need or more draft capital.
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Gabriel, the team’s third-round rookie who has appeared in six games and thrown for just 702 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions, with a 59.9% completion rate, remains the current starter.
While the play-calling change doesn’t necessarily guarantee a Sanders start, it stacks the deck in favor of more reps and a clearer coaching relationship — both necessary steps if the Browns are going to answer the pressing question fans keep asking: what’s next at quarterback?
Next up for Cleveland comes the New York Jets (1-7) at MetLife Stadium, followed by a Week 11 divisional game at home against the Baltimore Ravens (3-5) and a road test against the Las Vegas Raiders (2-6); three winnable games that could feature Sanders under center.
