Midway through the 2026 NFL regular season, the Cleveland Browns are tied atop the AFC North standings with a 5-2 record.
With an important Week 8 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) coming up on Sunday that will decide whether the Browns continue to cement their top spot in the standings, analysts Tony Rizzo and Aaron Goldhammer discussed whether the Browns should continue to stick with Shedeur Sanders as the Browns' second-string quarterback on the ESPN Cleveland show on Thursday.
Goldhammer opined that the backup quarterback spot should go to Dillon Gabriel, who was actived from injured reserve earlier this week after being out with a back injury, instead.
"We thought Shedeur would be starting by now or Taylen Green would be starting by now. You have a team that's capable of making the playoffs, and you still have a quarterback that while he's been magic in the fourth quarter is pretty injury prone. So, you gotta be thinking a little bit about who gives us the best chance to come off the bench in this game and hold a 10-point fourth quarter lead making a couple of plays. That's who you've gotta play as your backup quarterback," Goldhammer said (Timestamp: 0:06).
However, fans online did not agree with Goldhammer's idea to replace Shedeur with Gabriel, with many criticizing the host.
"This guy is insane why does he have a MIC 😂😂😂," a fan wrote on X.
"@HammerNation19 needs to be fired seriously," a fan commented .
Although Dillon Gabriel has been on IR, he has been able to practice since Oct. 6.
Despite analyst Aaron Goldhammer vouching for Dillon Gabriel to be Cleveland's backup quarterback, the depth chart names him as the third-string quarterback, with Shedeur Sanders occupying the second spot. Deshaun Watson continues to be the franchise's starter, with rookie Taylen Green as the fourth choice.
The Cleveland Browns' quarterback depth chart has been a subject of debate since last season. Gabriel took over from former Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback after Cleveland's 1-3 start in 2025. Cleveland then traded Flacco, who was the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2023 for the Browns, to the Cincinnati Bengals to replace an injured Joe Burrow.
That left Cleveland relying on Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, two rookies, with Sanders starting the final seven games after taking over when Gabriel went out with a concussion in mid-November. Gabriel went 1-5 as a starter, while Sanders was 3-4.
With Deshaun Watson coming back after missing half of the 2024 season and all of 2025 with Achilles tendon injuries, he resumed being the team's QB1. With Gabriel being activated, the Browns have three quarterbacks who have been starters.
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