Despite saying he was going to look at everything during the bye week, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski clarified that he's not planning on making a second quarterback change ahead of a Week 10 matchup with the New York Jets.

He's sticking with rookie Dillon Gabriel, even after a two interception performance against the New England Patriots. It was undoubtedly the worst of Gabriel's four games starting under center. Up until that point, the third-round pick had at least avoided turning the ball over – a step in the right direction from the Joe Flacco version of the offense. 

That was at least a small step in the right direction, but the unit Stefanski oversees is still tied for dead last in the league in points per game at a clip of (14.2). It's a historically bad offense, worse in several areas than even the Browns offense that went 0-16 in 2017. 

Cleveland's problems on offense go beyond the QB position, obviously. The offensive line is old and have struggled weekly to protect whoever is under center. The wide receiver room is mostly unproven and even when top wideout Jerry Jeudy does get the ball thrown his way, he's struggled to hold onto it. 

One change Stefanski could consider is giving up play calling, something he's likely to weigh this week. Doing that last year produced a stunning win over the Baltimore Ravens. Otherwise, the only other card up his sleeve is at some point pivoting to his other rookie QB Shedeur Sanders. 

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It's not happening in Week 10 and, truthfully, four games is a pretty quick hook to evaluate a rookie QB. However, if Gabriel's struggles continue – among qualified QBs he's tied for 30th in completion percentage, his 25.8 QBR is dead last in the NFL – Stefanski will have no choice but to give Sanders a look. 

When it happens, it may end up working out better than even he is expecting. 

One notable aspects of Sanders' draft profile is that he was one of the most productive quarterbacks in all of college football, despite playing under some adverse circumstances. Colorado had one of the most inconsistent offensive lines in the sport in 2024. It didn't stop him from completing a college football best 74% of his passes, for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns. 

He did all that despite facing pressure on 35.6% of his drop backs. When pressured, Sanders completed 54.2% of his passes, for 1,050 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. Maybe most impressively, he only produced turnover worthy throws on 1.8% of his attempts when under pressure. Sanders was one of the most efficient and poised quarterbacks in college football history despite some of the adverse circumstances around him. 

Which brings us to his current team, the Browns. There's something to be said for Gabriel having six years of experience when he entered the NFL. That's something that Cleveland frankly, really valued.

In terms of tangible experience, Sanders may not be able to top Gabriel in years. But he certainly has a case for having seen more chaos offensively, and thriving in it. The Browns' offensive line is bad, that's no secret. Sanders may be better equipped to handle it though, and frankly, succeed in it, the same way he did at Colorado. 

Of course, this is the NFL. Players are faster. Things develop around a quarterback a lot faster and he has to be able to process them. He also won't get away with drifting back in the pocket, the way he did in college, at this level. That's something the Browns have hopefully worked to coach out of him. 

There is plenty of evidence, however, that when things aren't perfect, Sanders finds a way to produce. He's a gamer that way. Conversely, Gabriel looks like a QB who needs things to be nearly perfect to play his best football. 

Isn't the mark of a great quarterback what they do when things break down? 

Sanders time is coming, and there's reason to believe even in a broken Browns offense, he can provide fans some sign of hope for the future at the most important position.