The Joe Flacco trade seemingly cleared the way for Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders to take over the backup quarterback role after Dillon Gabriel was promoted to starter last week.
Now, Gabriel will continue to start, but there is a question on just who will be the backup quarterback. The Browns have veteran Bailey Zappe on their practice squad, and could elevate him to be their backup while Sanders would remain the emergency third quarterback.
In periods open to the Cleveland media, the Browns are not tipping their hand. Instead, they are focusing more so on getting Gabriel prepared, while the Steelers have to figure out who might be the second in command.
“All roster type of things, I always have to be mindful of our players and our players’ development,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “And I want to make sure that I’m always doing what’s best for our players and, of course, our team. But with young players, I’m always thinking about — last week, making the change to Dillon, you have to think long and hard about that, because these are young players that you are so invested in their development. So, I’ll let the week play out [and] make a decision later.”
As for what the Steelers will do, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin says the team will go back in some of Sanders’ Colorado film to know him better, while they have a few games of Zappe tape, including a game against the New England Patriots in 2023 where he started at Acrisure Stadium.
The Browns will have to decide just who they want as the backup by Saturday. If they elevate Zappe, they all but declares him to be the backup, as quarterbacks elevated from the practice squad can not become the emergency third quarterback.
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