The Cleveland Browns’ offense has been among the worst in football through the first four weeks of the season with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco at the helm. And instead of sticking with Flacco going into a Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, the Browns will reportedly opt to start a rookie quarterback in unfamiliar territory in more ways than one.
Flacco’s struggles have been evident in his 18th NFL season, recording just two passing touchdowns in the team’s first four games of the season. Perhaps more worrying for Browns fans has been Flacco’s propensity to turn the ball over, throwing six interceptions thus far, the second most of any quarterback in football through the first four weeks.
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Heading into a Week 5 matchup in London, England, there was a belief that the team may opt to let Flacco get one more opportunity given how an overseas game can bring a number of challenges to any player, much less a rookie quarterback who has never started an NFL game before.
Instead, the Browns are reportedly set to hand the reigns over to rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, according to CBS Sports’ National NFL reporter Matt Zenitz, who explained that this is the “current belief” unless something drastic changes in the coming days.
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The Browns are clearly giving Gabriel, a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, a very difficult task to play in an entirely different country for his NFL debut. But clearly, Cleveland must see Flacco’s recent struggles as too significant to ignore.
It goes without saying that the Browns’ offense is looking for answers anywhere they can find them after failing to score over 17 points in any of their first four games of the season.
It’s unclear whether Gabriel will give Cleveland the answers it’s looking for. But at the very least, Browns fans should have something to be excited when it comes to seeing what Gabriel may be capable of at the NFL level.
