BEREA -- On Monday, Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked to evaluate Dillon Gabriel and his play after five starts after the 27-20 loss to the Jets to send the Browns to 2-7.
"I think with young quarterbacks, it's understanding that there's going to be ups and downs," Stefanski said on a video conference call. "Can Dillon play better? Yes he can. Can we play better around him? Yes we can. Can we coach him better? Yes we can.
"So I understand the question, but I just trust that our young players at every position and certainly, at the quarterback position are guys that are going to work their tails off to get better every single day."
Gabriel was 17-of-32 for 167 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His rating was 88.9. Gabriel rushed five times for 54 yards (10.8 avg.), including a 19-yard run. Gabriel was sacked six times.
On the season, Gabriel is 102-of-174 (.586 pct.) for 869 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Gabriel has rushed 12 times for 84 yards and been sacked 17 times.
During training camp, owner Jimmy Haslam said that the coaching staff knew that seeing both young quarterbacks at some point this season was important. At 2-7 and with eight games to play, Stefanski was asked if he had a timetable on when the Browns might get a look at Shedeur Sanders. He did not want to speculate on when the other rookie might see game action.
"I don't think it's fair to speculate," Stefanski said. "We're committed to getting better as an offense. Dillon is certainly committing to improving every which way he can. And all the while all of our players, young players are developing and working so hard behind the scenes to make sure that they're getting better on a daily basis."
Other than the Patriots game when Sanders was inactive with a back injury, Sanders has been the backup to Gabriel. He has not played in a regular season game and has not been in a game since the final preseason game against the Rams.
The Browns host the Ravens this Sunday and then travel to take on the Raiders in Las Vegas the following week. The Browns have five of their next seven games at home.