Dillon Gabriel showed up to Browns minicamp with the look of a favorite—more reps, solid poise, and not a single interception. He threw 83 passes, completed 48 of them, and finished with eight touchdowns. Steady and safe. It felt like the QB1 job was quietly trending his way. But then came a twist: when Cleveland started tracking efficiency, Shedeur Sanders didn’t just show up—he started pushing the pace.
Despite fewer snaps, Shedeur turned heads with a sharp 77.4% completion rate—41 of 53 throws, nine touchdowns, and only one pick. The accuracy gap was hard to ignore. Coaches noticed. Teammates whispered. It didn’t mean the job was his, but it sure reset the conversation. “I talked to Denzel Ward…” the NFL legend Chad Johnson revealed.
“I shouldn’t say his name. But anyway, I talked to ‘some people,’ and (Shedeur) looked different. There’s a difference when that young bull is out there spinning that ball, you hear me?” Bottom line: both Shedeur and Gabriel are battling to carve out a path to the Browns’ QB1 spot. The catch? It’s Shedeur getting all the spotlight, but Gabriel? That’s the tricky part.
Enter Tony Grossi, the Browns & NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com, who recently shed light on Chad’s comments. Grossi believes that Shedeur is doing fine in Cleveland, no doubt. But it’s more of a false hysteria that is being created. As per Grossi, Shedeur is doing fine, but so is Dillon Gabriel. Shedeur is winning his teammates, but so are the other players. It’s as simple as that.
“Shedeur’s doing fine,” Grossi noted, “Okay, but this is more the false hysteria that’s being created. He’s doing fine, but so is Dillon Gabriel.” And when asked if he’s starting to see the dynamic that Shedeur is winning his teammates, Grossi made it clear that everyone’s winning their teammates over. “Well, I think they’re all winning their teammates over.” Translation?
.@ochocinco has heard that Shedeur Sanders has looked different in Browns camp. Is @TonyGrossi hearing the same thing? pic.twitter.com/izyKjLuDYT
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) June 16, 2025
Shedeur Sanders is developing as the Browns’ QB and building chemistry with his teammates, but he’s not the only one. Dillon Gabriel is in the mix as well. And when it comes to throwing the ball, as Chad Johnson mentioned? Well, in this case, Tony is on board with Dillon standing out as a better rookie than Shedeur. “You talk about spinning the ball?” Grossi added.
“No one out there spins it as well as Gabriel. I mean actually, mechanically spinning a driving spiral into a receiver’s hands, he’s (Gabriel) is better at that. So, I think it’s just more false hysteria. Shedeur is doing fine. He is getting better. But he’s not the only one getting better.” So, who’s got the upper hand to be the Browns’ QB1? And who’s the best when it comes to spinning the ball? Shedeur? Gabriel?
Well, given that Cleveland is entering the 2025 season with 4 QBs, it’s not that hard to pin down. Shedeur managed to turn heads. And yes, so did Gabriel. But comparing them might sound odd because we’ve already seen the Browns’ practice sessions, and the picture is clear. Shedeur has an upper hand.
But then again, both are competing for the QB1 role, and HC made it clear that it is a four-way QB competition. Now, the bigger picture here is, can the Browns carry four quarterbacks on the 53 roster?
Can the Browns carry four quarterbacks on the roster?
The Browns have had quarterback woes for years. But this year feels different. Instead of tackling the QB conundrum every year, Kevin Stefanski and Co. are stuck with whom to start in the 2025 season. Should they go ahead with the veteran Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett? Or young talents like Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel would be a perfect fit. But amidst all the chaos, one thing’s clear: the Browns aren’t going to start 17 games with just one quarterback.
And that means only one thing: Cleveland will certainly enter with either three or four quarterbacks in the 2025 season. But Tony Grossi recently admitted that “I can easily see the Browns entering the season with four QBs.” Why? Well, according to Grossi, “Within a month of entering the season, teams will lose QBs to injuries, and a trade market will develop before the deadline on November 4.”
NFL, American Football Herren, USA Cleveland Browns Rookie Minicamp May 10, 2025 Berea, OH, USA Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders 12 throws a pass during rookie minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Berea CrossCountry Mortgage Campus OH USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKenxBlazex 20250510_kab_bk4_054
And that’s where it gets pretty interesting. Because if a QB gets injured within a month or two, and the Browns would want to move him to the practice squad, they’d need to expose the QB to the waivers and then re-sign. And it’s unlikely the Browns would want to risk that. That means we can expect Cleveland to enter the 2025 season with four QBs. However, Tony Grossi believes that everything will depend on how training camp and preseason turn out for the QBs.
“Of course, training camp and preseason can change plans,” Grossi added. Because currently, the plan is to enter with four QBs. But if things go south during the training camp and preseason, the Browns might change the plans and cut one of the QBs to the practice squad—at least that’s what Grossi suggested.
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