Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel left Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens early due to an apparent concussion.
Gabriel did not come out with the Browns to start the second half at Huntington Bank Field while he was being evaluated for a concussion. So, after the Browns got a quick stop, backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders took the field for the first time during the regular season in his NFL career.
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Sanders came out firing, too, and hit Cedric Tillman for a 5-yard gain on his first official NFL snap. But their drive quickly stalled out, and Sanders fumbled after Kyle Hamilton brought him down with a sack on third down, before they had to punt it away. The Browns recovered the fumble, but the Ravens defense didn’t hesitate to troll the former Colorado star.
It’s unclear when Gabriel went down with his injury, though the team quickly ruled him out in the second half. Specifics on his status moving forward aren’t yet known. He went 7-of-10 for 68 yards in the first half for Cleveland, which couldn’t get much of anything going offensively early on. The Browns still took a 16-10 lead into the locker room at halftime, thanks to three field goals and a 23-yard interception return for a touchdown from Devin Bush in the second quarter.
Sanders was only officially active for his first NFL game in Week 6 after a tumultuous start to his NFL career, which saw him slide down into the fifth round of the draft. The Browns took him after selecting Gabriel in the third round, too, and then Gabriel took over as the team’s starting quarterback after they traded away Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals. That moved Sanders to the backup role for the first time.
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The Browns entered Sunday’s game having lost five of their last six, and Gabriel hasn’t been outstanding in the starting role — though the team’s issues clearly go well beyond the quarterback position. Still, head coach Kevin Stefanski has been clear that he wasn’t ready to start Sanders over Gabriel even with their struggles offensively.
The Browns will take on the Las Vegas Raiders next weekend. If Gabriel is still dealing with his concussion, Sanders should be in position to get his first start at Allegiant Stadium. After a rocky pre-draft process, in which Sanders turned down certain teams because he wanted a clear path to playing time, and a very slow start to his career, he would finally get the opportunity to prove he was right all along.
But with that will come an incredible amount of pressure for the rookie, who will be tasked with guiding an already-struggling franchise to a win.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.
