The Pittsburgh Steelers are on BYE this week, but life around the NFL continues to move forward. The Steelers' next opponent, for example, has already begun to make some serious changes ahead of their Week 5 matchup.
According to Matt Zenitz, the Cleveland Browns are making a change at quarterback, sitting Joe Flacco in favor of rookie third-round pick Dillon Gabriel. Based on that decision, the Steelers now know who to expect under center two weeks from now in their first AFC North matchup of the season.
Cleveland Browns’ quarterback carousel spins again before Pittsburgh Steelers matchup
It’s not a surprise that the Browns are making the switch. Flacco struggled to move the offense over the past two weeks, completing less than half of his throws for under 400 yards with three interceptions and no touchdowns.
On top of Flacco’s present struggles, it was rather obvious this offseason that the Browns would once again try a few different quarterbacks this year. For a time, it appeared former Steelers QB Kenny Pickett would be involved in that carousel, but he was shipped off to Las Vegas to make room for the two rookies in the building.
Of course, with that in mind, it could only be a matter of time before Shedeur Sanders gets his shot as the Browns' starter. That’s contingent on Gabriel’s performance, though.
Gabriel, the 94th overall pick out of Oregon, doesn’t have the easiest matchups to begin his tenure as the starter in Cleveland. The Browns face the blitz-happy Vikings in London this week, and return to the states without a break to face the Steelers in Pittsburgh for Week 5. Gabriel won’t make his first home start until October 19 against Miami.
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A Heisman Trophy candidate in his final collegiate season, Gabriel struggled in his first NFL preseason. He completed 67% of his 37 pass attempts for 272 yards and a touchdown. He also threw one interception and lost a fumble. He dealt with a hamstring injury, which forced him to give up plenty of snaps to Sanders.
The Browns are 1-3 on the season, largely unsurprising outside of the upset win over Green Bay despite the talent on defense. Still, they almost beat Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, so there may be some desperate level of hope in Cleveland that one of these rookie quarterbacks could be the answer.
Assuming health doesn’t play a factor, Gabriel should get plenty of opportunity to cement himself as the starter. But if things continue to fall the way they have for Cleveland, as they often do, it won’t be long before Sanders steps into the role himself.
The Steelers’ second game against Cleveland doesn’t come until Week 17, but Pittsburgh will likely have a good idea of who they’ll face at quarterback in that game simply based on Gabriel’s performance in a couple of weeks.