Browns bench Joe Flacco: Where Shedeur Sanders stands on depth chart after Dillon Gabriel’s promotion to QB1
Written by CBS SPORTS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on October 1, 2025
The Cleveland Browns made a change at the quarterback position as the team is moving to rookie Dillon Gabriel. This comes after veteran quarterback Joe Flacco has struggled through the first four games in a 1-3 start to the 2025 season.
Despite being benched in favor of Gabriel, the Browns quarterback depth chart still has Flacco serving as the backup, while Shedeur Sanders remains the team’s No. 3 quarterback, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Sanders has been the No. 3 quarterback since the preseason and has yet to rise up the depth chart even with Flacco being demoted. The former Colorado star — who was selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft — completed 17 of 29 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns in two games during the preseason.
Sanders received multiple questions Wednesday about the quarterback change and his role as QB3. He didn’t have much to say, in fact he didn’t have anything to say, but he did mouth his answers.
Sanders, with a big grin on his face, appeared to mouth at the beginning, “I can’t speak right now.”
When asked what he feels he has to show in order for the coaches to believe he can be the guy and be ready, he appeared to say, “Consistency. Keep working hard.” It also looked like he said, “I’m enjoying myself, I’m having fun,” at one point during the scrum.
“There’s a lot of questions about Shedeur Sanders. Obviously, the Cleveland Browns do not feel that he is ready to be one snap away from playing in an NFL game,” CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones said. “That’s why he will remain as the emergency third-string quarterback… They hope to get a spark from Gabriel. They hope to play him the rest of the season. But, of course, don’t be surprised that if in five, seven, nine weeks, we’re talking about a Browns team that is starting Shedeur Sanders.”
With Dillon Gabriel as the Browns’ starting QB, Cleveland has a case to be the AFC North’s best team
Ryan Wilson
In four games, Flacco committed an NFL-leading eight turnovers while throwing the second-most interceptions (6) among NFL quarterbacks. Flacco has also recorded a 27.0 total QBR, and only Cam Ward of the Tennessee Titans has a lower score among qualified signal callers.
Flacco completed 16 of his 34 pass attempts for 184 yards to go along with two interceptions in Sunday’s 34-10 loss to the Detroit Lions. The 40-year-old has only threw two touchdowns in four games with at least one pick in every game.
Gabriel replaced Flacco on Cleveland’s final series against Detroit and also did so against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2. Now, he’ll get his first chance to start an NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings in London on Sunday.
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