BEREA, Ohio — Browns fans will get to see the great Dillon Gabriel vs Shedeur Sanders debate play out on the field on Saturday afternoon against the Rams.
Kevin Stefanski announced on Thursday that Joe Flacco will start the game along with the most of the rest of the starters, and Dillon Gabriel will replace him after about 20-25 plays. Sanders, who suffered an oblique strain last week before the first joint practice of the Eagles, emerged healthy from the past two days of practice and will play third barring a setback. If time permits, Tyler Huntley might also get a few snaps at the end.
Second-team quarterback Kenny Pickett, who’s still recovering from his hamstring injury and sat out 11-on-11s each of the past two days, will sit out the game.
It means that Pickett, who headed into the offseason program as the Browns QB1, will venture into the season without having taken a preseason snap. It doesn’t mean, however, that the Browns have forgotten about him. He might not be ready to serve as the Browns backup during the season opener Sept. 7 at home against the Bengals, but the Browns will consider him for that role if healthy.
In the meantime, Flacco, 40, will lead the Browns first-team offense in live action for the first time this season, and is looking forward to it despite this being his 18th season.
“There’s a lot of value in preparing yourself to go play a football game and get your mindset ready for that,” he said.
Flacco has said he wished he had more time to work with the starters this preseason instead of dividing the reps four ways, but he’s tried to make up for lost time over the past couple of weeks.
“I think we all feel pretty good,” he said. “You only get a certain amount of reps out there, and I think we’ve made the most of it, and I think that’s every team in the league to a certain extent. The good thing about this week is, we kind of get to put ourselves through a little bit of a game plan and simulate what we would be doing during the year. That’s going to give everybody that extra confidence to take that next step.”
Unfortunately for the Browns, they won’t have running back Quinshon Judkins, their second-round pick out of Ohio State, who remains unsigned in the wake of not being charged for domestic battery against his girlfriend. But they will have new rookie receiver Isaiah Bond, who signed on Sunday after s grand jury declined to indict him. Bond has practiced three straight days, and is ready to see action, possibly even some with the starters.
“Mentally he’s very, very sharp and we knew that,” Stefanski said. “He picked up everything very quickly. I think he’s ready to play a little bit on Saturday.”
Sanders downplayed the oblique strain, which sidelined him for about a week.
“It’s healing good,” he said. “Everything is good. In life it’s always going to be pain, it’s always going to be things, adversity, things that are going to knock you down sometimes, but the main thing about it is you just got to push through it. It’s a lot of people in this world that’s going through stuff, but I’m playing for a lot more than just me.
“So regardless of pain, that’s always how I’ve been, even in college, in high school and everything from when I was young. Regardless of physically, if I don’t feel my best, I still got to go out there and execute with no excuses.”
He said he’s not thinking about how can build on his exciting start against the Panthers, in which he threw two touchdown passes to receiver Kaden Davis, and put three TDs on the board in his nine drives.
“It’s honestly just going out there playing ball,” he said. “I don’t really think too deep of it. I think about one completion at the time, one right play call at the time, the right way to do the footwork when we’re handing the ball off doing everything. So every day is just constant grading yourself and trying to have progression. Progress.”
The lively competition between the two rookie will be on display Saturday afternoon in the “dress rehearsal” game. Joe Flacco will start the game, Gabriel, the Browns’ third round pick, will relieve him, and Sanders will play third. Kenny Pickett, who’s still recovering from his hamstring injury, will sit this one out, and Tyler Huntley will get some snaps if time permits.
With Gabriel sidelined for the preseason opener with a hamstring injury, Sanders started the game and dazzled with two electrifying touchdown passes to first-year receiver Kaden Davis en route to the 30-10 victory. Along the way, he went 14 of 23 for 138 yards, with no interceptions for a stellar 106.8 rating.
The performance raised hopes that perhaps the Browns had found their potential quarterback of the future afterall. But Sanders strained his left oblique early in the first joint practice against the Eagles last week, being forced to sit out both practices and the second preseason game in Philly last Saturday.
Gabriel started that game, and had a chance to show why the Browns drafted him two rounds ahead of Sanders, whom they had passed on six times.
Playing with all the moxie he was known for during his six years in college, Gabriel went 13-for-18 for 143 yards, putting points on the board on the three of his five possessions en route to the Browns’ 22-13 victory. But he also turned the ball over twice -- once on a 75-yard pick-six that he should’ve thrown away -- and once on a botched exchange with Pierre Strong Jr.
The good thing for Gabriel was that he overcame both of those giveaways, putting field goals on the board on the ensuing drives. He displayed good mobility, arm strength and decision-making, fueling the debate about which one of the Browns rookie QBs is better.
The good news for the Browns is that both played well, and showed they’re worth developing throughout the season.
In the meantime, Sanders, who has an enormous local and national following, is eager to play at Huntington Bank Field for the first time.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “I wanted to do, and I didn’t even say this, but I wanted to get every, I wanted to find a way to get a lot of the high schools free tickets, a lot of the kids, middle schools, everybody, free tickets to come to the game. I don’t know how I’m going to do that. I don’t know anything. I didn’t talk to anybody about this, but I just always have instant thoughts.
“I’m like, ‘dang, that’d be cool if we could do it.’ But I didn’t talk to anybody about that yet. But I think it’s going to be fun. I think it’s going to be an electric atmosphere. I’m excited for everything, everybody, I know a lot of us will be playing in a game, so I’m just excited to be out there and get out there.”
Sanders celebrated his excellent practice and being cleared to play Saturday by paying a surprise visit to the Saint Ignatius football team on Thursday.
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