Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Gets Bad News Ahead of Week 5
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders did not get a depth chart promotion after Joe Flacco was benched.
The Cleveland Browns reiterated on Thursday that Shedeur Sanders will not be bumped up to the backup spot after Dillon Gabriel was named the new starting quarterback.
The Browns are making the move to Gabriel this week, benching 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco after a disappointing 1-3 start. Some assumed the benching of Flacco would lead to Sanders taking over the primary backup role.
However, the Browns are going to leave Sanders as the No. 3, emergency quarterback option, which he has occupied for the first four weeks of the season. Sanders is only able to enter the game if both Gabriel and Flacco are injured.
Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees spoke about the decision to put Flacco in the backup role ahead of the team’s Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in London.
“Just feel like Joe’s gonna stay the No. 2 right now and has done a lot to prepare and be ready to go in a pinch,” Rees said.
Browns Confident Dillon Gabriel Can Provide Spark
The Browns‘ offense struggled mightily with Flacco under center. Cleveland is averaging just 14 points per game and explosive plays have been hard to come by. Flacco also turned the ball over eight times — six interceptions and two lost fumbles — through four games. It was a significant part of the decision to bench him.
“Look, we all got to play better at a lot of positions. This is not singular just to the quarterback position. You know, we’ve all got to do our part around him, coaches included,” Rees said. “I felt like it was an opportunity to make the change, and really looking at it as a way to spark the offense and get things going.”
Gabriel is not known as a mobile quarterback. But he will bring a different element to the offense than Flacco, who struggled to work outside of the pocket or against pressure.
“You want to build what you do around a certain guy’s skill set, make them feel comfortable, put them in positions that gives them a certain level of confidence in what they’re operating,” Rees said. “There’s certainly some things that Dillon does that are different; certain things that Joe does are different. It’s our job as coaches to put them in that position.”
Browns QB Joe Flacco Taking Benching in Stride
Flacco’s career as a starter is likely over after being benched. He couldn’t recreate the magic he had with the Browns in 2023, which helped lead Cleveland to the postseason.
Despite the setback, Flacco has been supporting Gabriel as he prepares for his first NFL action.
“I think the best way to help him is just continue to come to work with a good mindset every day and provide that positive energy and see what he needs on his end,” Flacco said. “He’s ready to go. I’m sure he’s super excited about this opportunity. You can tell he takes it seriously just by the way he studies, his intent in the meeting rooms and on the practice field.”
The Browns are a 3.5-point underdog in London for the matchup with the Vikings, per ESPN BET.
Cowboys Get More Bad News Amid CeeDee Lamb Injury
The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers played in a nail-biter last weekend, which ended in a 40-40 tie.
There’s an argument to be made that the Cowboys could have pulled out a win had they had arguably their best offensive player healthy in wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who was sidelined following a high-ankle sprain suffered during the team’s Week 3 loss to the Bears.
The Cowboys have managed without Lamb. Teammate George Pickens, especially, has been dominant on the field. But now it appears that the Dallas Cowboys will be without another one of their key wide receivers when they take on the New York Jets on Oct. 5.
According to the Cowboys’ official website, Dallas wide receiver and kick returner KaVontae Turpin could be sidelined for Sunday’s game against the Jets with a foot injury that he sustained during the team’s game against the Green Bay Packers.
“During Wednesday’s media viewing period in practice, Turpin was not present,” Tommy Yarrish of the Cowboys’ website stated. “As it stands, the Cowboys do not believe Turpin’s injury will land him on injured reserve, which would sideline him for four games.”
Yarrish adds that when Turpin was sidelined, he was coming off her best performance on kickoff returns this season, clocking six returns for 175 yards, averaging out at 29.2 yards per return.
During the offseason, the Dallas Cowboys signed Turpin to a three-year, $18 million extension, under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
“Moving forward for the next few weeks, the Cowboys will have to figure out who they want to handle both their punt and kickoff returns,” Yarrish stated. “So far this season, Jalen Tolbert and Miles Sanders have been the only other two players to do so.”
In other news, ESPN’s Week 5 power rankings have the Cowboys at No. 23, up one spot from last week. They suggest that the team’s biggest issue on offense is third-down efficiency.
“It’s difficult to quibble about an offense that has scored 40 points twice, run the ball efficiently and has quarterback Dak Prescott playing at a high level,” Todd Archer of ESPN says in the story. “The Cowboys have even performed well without wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (left high ankle sprain), center Cooper Beebe (right ankle and foot injury) and right guard Tyler Booker (high ankle sprain). But with a defense that is struggling, the offense needs to be better on third down.”
