Just four weeks into the 2025 season, the Cleveland Browns appear to already be making a quarterback change. After opening the season intending for Joe Flacco to start ahead of Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders all season, CBS Sports reporter Matt Zenitz reported that the Browns were planning on switching to Gabriel ahead of the Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday in London. The team has yet to confirm that report.
If the team does indeed make the quarterback switch, it could provide a boost to an offense that ranks 13th-to-last in passing yards, third-to-last in net yards per attempt, and dead last in passer rating. Flacco has looked like a 40-year-old, completing just 58.1% of his passes and throwing two touchdowns and six interceptions. Cleveland has yet to score more than 17 points in any contest and has lost twice by 24 points, only nabbing a victory in Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers thanks to some late-game defensive and special teams heroics. Only two Browns receivers, Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman, have even reached 100 receiving yards on the season, and Tillman is now out for at least four weeks with a hamstring injury. Tight ends David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. have reached 100 yards, but neither has scored a touchdown.
Gabriel has gotten limited action, taking 10 garbage time snaps and completing three of four passes for 19 yards and a beautiful fade to rookie running back Dylan Sampson for a touchdown. The 94th overall pick went 25-for-37 (67.6%) for 272 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the preseason on a diet of fairly quick, short passes, looking fairly comfortable in the process. Cleveland likely won’t ask too much of Gabriel if he starts; his first four attempts averaged just 4.8 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and he was mostly known for his short-pass accuracy across his six-year college career. Yards after the catch will be key, and so far, Njoku and Jeudy have both been below average after the catch among 139 qualified receivers. The Browns target I trust the most is Sampson, who Gabriel should be able to get in open space.
If Cleveland indeed turns to Gabriel, he could hardly ask for a tougher first matchup. So far this season, the Vikings have had among the league’s best secondaries, led by Isaiah Rodgers, who’s posted the league’s best coverage grade by Pro Football Focus’ rankings. This season, Rodgers has allowed just a 35.9 passer rating, conceding seven catches on 16 targets while returning both an interception and a fumble for a touchdown. As long as Rodgers can be reliably expected to lock up Jeudy, it doesn’t get much easier for Fannin or Njoku; safeties Josh Metellus and Theo Jackson have both posted among the highest coverage grades at their respective positions. Also, Minnesota has both blitzed and gotten pressure at the second-highest rate, a tough ask for any rookie.
