Browns' QB competition rolls on as Dillon Gabriel starts amid hamstring tightness

New York Times

20 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA — All that's left in the Cleveland Browns' preseason are three practices and four quarters of exhibition football.
In continuing to defy the calendar and a pretty clear order during training camp, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski repeated Saturday afternoon that he isn't ready for announcements or declarations of any kind regarding the team's quarterback competition. Joe Flacco seems well ahead of the field through 15 training camp practices, but Stefanski wasn't ready to commit to that — or anything — in the wake of the Browns' backups running (and throwing) circles around the Eagles' backups in the second preseason game for both teams, one the Browns won, 22-13.
Joe Flacco
Browns
So, at least for now, the four-man competition continues with no new news. There was a new stage for Dillon Gabriel on Saturday as the third-round rookie made his professional debut, and Gabriel was sharp early before he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the second quarter.
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Over two full quarters, Gabriel kept the Browns moving and led three scoring drives, one for a touchdown and two for field goals. Perhaps most impressively, Gabriel converted the first five third-down opportunities he faced with completions.
'Plenty (for Gabriel) to clean up,' Stefanski said. 'There are some things that I thought he did well. I thought our offense as a whole on third down was very good early, which allowed us to stay on the field because I don't think we were great on first and second down. But plenty to clean up.'
Gabriel finished 13-of-18 for 143 yards and the interception. He also was charged with a lost fumble after a botched handoff with Pierre Strong Jr. later in the second quarter.
'On the interception, I look back, I definitely want to just throw it away,' Gabriel said. 'Don't force anything. And (on the fumble) I felt like there's just miscommunication on my part and something that we've got to clean up, but I will and we'll make sure of that.'
Gabriel didn't play in the preseason opener. He'd been experiencing hamstring tightness since early August and was limited in select practice drills for about a week before he fully participated in both Browns-Eagles joint practices that preceded Saturday's game. The Browns didn't commit to Gabriel starting Saturday's game until about 60 minutes before it began because of the lingering hamstring issue.
Injuries have shaped — and swerved — the quarterback competition since the first week of training camp. Kenny Pickett hasn't been a full practice participant since July 26, when he suffered a hamstring injury. Pickett and Gabriel each having tender hamstrings led to fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders starting the preseason opener, and Sanders threw two touchdown passes in guiding the Browns' backups to a win in Carolina. But Sanders couldn't play in the second preseason game because of a strained oblique he suffered before the Browns and Eagles held their first joint practice session last Wednesday.
Kenny Pickett
Browns
Stefanski said he's hopeful but not certain that all four quarterbacks will be cleared for full practice and given a chance to play in the August 23 preseason finale vs. the Rams. But that game is also one Stefanski hopes to treat as a season rehearsal and play almost all of his starters, so there won't be much time for four quarterbacks to play. And there's probably not much time for any of the three others to chase down the 40-year-old Flacco, who hasn't missed a practice ahead of the start of his 18th NFL training camp and has taken almost all the reps with the No. 1 offense in practice since Pickett's injury.
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Sanders did some light throwing before Saturday's game. The order for three full weeks has almost always been Flacco, then Gabriel, then Sanders, who hasn't taken a single snap with the No. 1 offense in any practice session. Gabriel has taken a few starters' snaps and, at times, has alternated with Sanders in piloting the second and third groups through various camp drills and situations.
Realistically, it was probably always Flacco vs. Pickett for the opening-day starting job and Gabriel vs. Sanders for short-term positioning on the depth chart and long-term standing in the eyes of the team's decision makers. But after Sanders impressed in Carolina and appeared to have built some momentum, he was sidelined and Gabriel took his turn in a game setting this week. Gabriel said his hamstring is feeling better and that he's remained focused on improvement — not where he might fit with summer coming to an end.
'I'm not worried about that at all,' Gabriel said. 'Just focused on a day at a time. At the end of the day, some decision will be made that's best for the team and that'll be it. So I'm just focused on being my best version of myself and contributing to our team and our quarterback room to be the best I can. And that takes every single day and one day at a time. So (that's) way down the road.'
.@_dillongabriel_ with the 30-yarder to set up the kick!@KadenDavis23 | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/OVioROgTHx
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 16, 2025
Besides his early string of third-down completions, Gabriel also raised some eyebrows when he told the Browns' local preseason TV broadcast during a sideline interview that 'there are entertainers and there are competitors, and I totally understand that. My job is to compete, and that's what I'm focused on doing.'
In his postgame press conference, Gabriel clarified that he was not talking about Sanders and was referring to himself as a competitor after being asked how to 'turn out the noise' surrounding the much-scrutinized and seemingly perpetual quarterback competition.
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'All of you (media) in this room are entertainers and you have a job to do and I respect it,' Gabriel said. 'And I'm a competitor, so I have a job to do as well. And I think just understanding that that's how I've lived. I've said that multiple times, so definitely not a new quote — something that I've definitely said before.
'I am all about our team and each other. I would never make (me vs. another player) and I've said it before. That's why it's interesting. But for me, I've explained it. Entertainers (like) you all or a competitor, that's what I am and all my teammates are. We both have jobs to do.'
(Top photo of Dillon Gabriel: Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)
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