This has been a grand week of Cleveland Browns rumors, from baseless claims that the Browns would trade for Garrett Wilson to unfounded reports that the team would deal off Shedeur Sanders. This week has been a veritable gift to traffic-hungry and fact-neutral media entities everywhere.
In addition, we've seen a lot of activity from the suddenly reactivated "play Shedeur" crowd, on radio and internet outlets, who have been agitated by the fact that Dillon Gabriel was unable to stretch the field to receivers who can't get separation while he was under attack from pass rushers and monsoons.
It probably comes as bad news to all these groups that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam acknowledged today that he was on board with his coaches and other front-office intelligentsia in not wanting to rush the team to move on.
"Dillon (Gabriel) has played three games, and that's not a great sample (size)," Haslam told the friendly media folks of NFL.com at the NFL Owners Fall Meeting in New York. "And one of them was in a monsoon. You could say he played two games. Shedeur's making progress in practice, so we're going to continue to work with both of those guys."
Ouch. That's gotta hurt in the clickbait economy, but it ties to what we've been saying in Ask the Insiders and Rumor Central. Then again, we're more interested in what the people inside the organization are saying than the prattling of imaginary elves that seem to spark 20% of what's written about the Browns.
Jimmy Haslam
Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam (Photo: Getty)
What Haslam didn't say is that Gabriel has also been dealing with a number of disadvantages, including receivers who struggle to get separation, a porous front line, and a coaching staff that abandoned the run against the Steelers. That doesn't mean that Gabriel hasn't left plays on the field - he definitely has - but the Browns have little reason to move on after just three games.
Tomorrow's game against the Patriots and their less-than-stellar pass defense will supposedly have decent weather conditions and will be a better test for Gabriel now that he has three games under his belt. If he struggles, yes, the controversy-loving crowd of attention seekers in the media will have a field day once again, but the Browns will have an important new data point on the rookie quarterback. I'm guessing they'll want even more before they invite Sanders to start. The fifth-round rookie has back tightness in any event.