Dillon Gabriel took the opening snaps at quarterback during rookie minicamp with the Cleveland Browns, but head coach Kevin Stefanski emphasized that nothing has been decided between him and Shedeur Sanders.
The Browns opened their much-anticipated rookie camp on Friday, with all eyes on their quarterback situation. Gabriel got the first look, followed by Sanders. But the reps were pretty evenly split, and Stefanski made a point to point out that the first day of practice didn’t indicate anything about the Browns’ depth chart.
“I wouldn’t look into really anything,” Stefanski said. “I think you’ll see the whole weekend, going through the spring, we don’t pay too close attention to who’s in there first.”
That said, the Browns are keeping a close eye on both players.
“I told the players last night and we tell them this, we’re evaluating everything they do — out on the field, in the meeting room, in the weight room,” coach Kevin Stefanski said after the 2-hour, 40-minute practice,” Stefanski said. “We want to see how they work. So this is a total evaluation. It’s not just about one rep at rookie minicamp or one rep in an OTA. It’s really all about the body of work.”
Browns Not Worried About Added Attention With Sanders
The Browns knew what they were signing up for when they stopped Sanders’ slide in the draft, selecting him in the fifth round. They were getting a quarterback prospect at a tremendous value, but it came with some significant extra attention.
“I’ve talked to our team many times over the years,” Stefanski said. “We’re not so caught up in outside noise. We kind of worry about what’s going inside, between our walls. We get that this game comes with a lot of attention and that’s the fun part of this business and the fun part of it for our fans. But for our work, we focus on what’s between those walls.”
Stefanski wants to keep the focus on the work, which both quarterbacks did well during their opening practice.
“I’ve seen both guys throw live, and that’s part of why it’s so important in that process to get around those guys,” he said. “They were as advertised. I thought both guys did a really nice job and there’s so much to work on and it’s the minutiae of the position. It’s some technique things. The operation needs to get better, all those things.
“That’s why we’re here. That’s why we’re going to work really hard over the next few days to get these guys ready for when they join the veterans on Monday.”
Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett Will Also Be in the Mix for Browns
The two rookies represent just half of the quarterback competition. The Browns will get a first look at all their quarterbacks next week, with Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett set to join the mix with the rest of the veterans. Cleveland didn’t intend to draft two quarterbacks but Andrew Berry had seen Sanders slide long enough before pouncing.
“We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mispriced relative to the draft,” Berry said after the draft. “Really, the acquisition cost was pretty light, and it’s a guy that we think can outproduce his draft slot.”
Gabriel, a third-round pick, played at UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon in college. He totaled more than 18,000 passing yards and 155 touchdowns—ranking among the most productive quarterbacks in FBS history.
Sanders starred at Jackson State before transferring to Colorado, where he threw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns in his final season.
