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The Cleveland Browns will stick with Dillon Gabriel as their starter this week against the Baltimore Ravens, but skepticism is mounting about his long-term viability as an NFL quarterback after a 1-4 opening stretch to his career.<\/p>\n
Gabriel took over for Joe Flacco in Week 5. He\u2019s done little to show that he can produce at the NFL level. Gabriel has rarely looked downfield, and when he has, his passes have lacked the needed accuracy and zip to be effective. His\u00a05.0 yards per attempt\u00a0is the lowest in the NFL. In all, Gabriel has passed for 869 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in five starts.<\/p>\n
Zac Jackson of The Athletic believes that Gabriel is \u201covermatched\u201d in the NFL and has little faith he can even be a viable developmental option for the Browns.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not a developmental quarterback. He\u2019s a quarterback who has hit a wall. You have a picture painted of who Dillon Gabriel is. He has done nothing but go backwards since that first game,\u201d\u00a0Jackson said on Thursday on The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. \u201cHe\u2019s overmatched \u2014 the numbers say that, the eye test says it. The reality is, he always was when they rushed him out there. They haven\u2019t done him any favors. They aren\u2019t doing him any favors with this wide receiver corps. But it\u2019s very clear \u2014 he is not going to be an NFL quarterback. And that has been the case since the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Browns spent a third-round pick on Gabriel with hopes he could finally solve their long-standing quarterback problem. But drafting Shedeur Sanders two rounds later did him no favors, adding another layer of pressure for the rookie.<\/p>\n
With Gabriel struggling, calls have grown for Sanders to get his shot under center. But head coach Kevin Stefanski has avoided the topic,\u00a0declining to answer questions\u00a0about when Sanders could see the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair to speculate. We\u2019re committed to getting better as an offense,\u201d Stefanski said. \u201cDillon is certainly committing to improving every which way he can. And all the while, all of our players, young players, are developing and working so hard behind the scenes to make sure that they\u2019re getting better on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are problems with the Browns\u2019 offense beyond Gabriel. But the rookie will only have so many more shots with the team racking up losses.<\/p>\n
As Jackson noted, Gabriel hasn\u2019t shown meaningful growth through five starts. Still, the Browns\u2019 rookie quarterback insisted he\u2019s focused on steady development rather than overnight results.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think growth is ever linear, and there\u2019s regression and there\u2019s progression,\u201d Gabriel said on Thursday. \u201cSo there\u2019s things that get better and things we\u2019ve got to continue to work on, but I want to continue to get better. And that\u2019s what you strive for every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gabriel\u2019s next test will come against the Ravens on Sunday, who are playing solid football after a rough start to the year. Baltimore pounded the Browns 41-17 in Week 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re talented at all levels, play really good as a unit, communicate really effectively,\u201d Gabriel said. \u201cWe have our hands full.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cleveland is a 12.5-point underdog for the matchup,\u00a0per ESPN BET.<\/p>\n
The Denver Broncos received tough news Friday afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As NBC Sports noted, NFL Network\u2019s Ian Rapoport reported that running back\u00a0J.K. Dobbins\u00a0will amiss Sunday\u2019s matchup against the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0due to a significant foot injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rapoport added that Dobbins is \u201cbelieved to be out for the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n
His placement on injured reserve remains a real possibility as the team evaluates its options.<\/p>\n
\u201cDobbins is still working through options, and while there is no final determination, IR remains a possibility,\u201d Rapoport said.<\/p>\n
The report came from himself and Tom Pelissero.<\/p>\n
The development marks a quick escalation from earlier in the week, when Dobbins missed Wednesday and Thursday\u2019s practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that point, the team had not revealed the full severity of the injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dobbins\u2019 injury stems from a hip-drop tackle last Thursday against the\u00a0Raiders, a play that left him frustrated enough to take to X and call for the move to be banned.<\/p>\n
Dobbins ranks fifth in the\u00a0NFL\u00a0with 772 rushing yards and has been a huge part of Denver\u2019s offense so far this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Dobbins has officially been ruled out for Week 11, the next major decision comes quickly.<\/p>\n
The Broncos must determine by Saturday afternoon whether to place him on injured reserve.<\/p>\n
If he is moved to IR before Sunday, the Chiefs game will count toward a required four-game absence.<\/p>\n
Placing Dobbins on IR would sideline him for matchups against the Chiefs,\u00a0Commanders, Raiders, and\u00a0Packers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He would be eligible to return Week 16 against the\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars.<\/p>\n
Head coach Sean Payton acknowledged that discussions are ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing has been decided yet, and at some point there will be more clarity with him and some of these other players,\u201d Payton said earlier this week.<\/p>\n
Denver\u2019s Week 12 bye gives the team a small cushion, but if the injury is significant enough to keep him out multiple weeks, the IR designation becomes more likely.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith JK Dobbins potentially headed to Injured Reserve, all eyes turn to RJ Harvey,\u201d Rapoport said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
RJ Harvey\u00a0has already flashed his dynamic potential in limited work.<\/p>\n
Payton praised Harvey\u2019s running style, durability, and readiness to step into a larger role:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we drafted him, it was his running skillset, and he had a lot of touches at Central Florida,\u201d Payton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are starting to see him grow in front of our eyes, and he will have more opportunities in this game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyler Badie\u00a0will likely mix in as a third down guy, while\u00a0Jaleel McLaughlin\u00a0could be active as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s divisional matchup against the Chiefs carries major playoff implications for both teams and Harvey has a huge opportunity to step up and flourish in the RB1 role.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Cleveland Browns will stick with Dillon Gabriel as their starter this week against the Baltimore Ravens, but skepticism is mounting about his long-term viability as an NFL quarterback after a 1-4…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t