Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel (5) throws as quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) looks on during rookie minicamp May 9, 2025, in Berea.

The Joe Flacco experiment -- or whatever you want to call starting an older past-his-prime former Super Bowl winner -- is apparently over for the Cleveland Browns.

Per CBS's Matt Zenitz, it sounds like Dillon Gabriel (who was taken in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft) will take over at QB in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings. That makes complete sense given how Flacco has played.

But there's another rookie QB who was taken by the Browns and not the Ravens on the depth chart in Shedeur Sanders. Why is Gabriel getting the call over him?

There's a fairly simple answer to this that goes slightly beyond Sanders being under Gabriel on the depth chart. Sanders hasn't lived up to whatever hype there was heading into the season, and since then has been put under the microscope by critics like Rex Ryan for things he's said (see below):

There you go. Maybe if Gabriel struggles, we'll see Sanders play. But not right now.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why Dillon Gabriel, not Shedeur Sanders, will reportedly be Browns QB

Reporting by Charles Curtis, For The Win / For The Win

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