Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel earned the backup job during training camp and preseason, and he looked good in limited action in Week 2 when he made his NFL debut and threw a garbage time touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens.
Now that the Browns are 0-2 and staring at a clear path to 0-4 with the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions up next on the schedule, Joe Flacco’s seat is already getting a bit warm, especially considering the fact that he has four turnovers through two games.
Josh Cribbs said on a recent episode of ‘The Top Dawgs Show’ that he knows when we’ll see Gabriel under center full-time for the Browns, and if things continue the way they have started, that won’t be too long from now.
“We’ll see the switch over when the Browns are no longer in playoff contention.”
.@JoshCribbs16 KNOWS when we will see Dillon Gabriel at the helm. #DawgPound
“When the Browns are no longer in playoff contention.”
Presented by Floorz https://t.co/6ISTjeDWh2 pic.twitter.com/dT7K0RAOU8
— The Top Dawgs Show (@TopDawgShow) September 20, 2025
That has always been the obvious takeaway with Cleveland’s four-man competition, and even though you never want to give up on a season by Week 3, the odds of the Browns making a playoff run in 2025 were always a long shot.
Cleveland has a pair of first-round picks in the 2026 draft if it needs to take another swing at a potential franchise quarterback, but if Gabriel has anything to say about it, perhaps that won’t be necessary.
Flacco hasn’t started a full regular season’s worth of games since 2017, so it was always unrealistic to expect him to break that streak at nearly 41 years old.
Gabriel made a strong first impression in Week 2, and while his time is coming, the Browns are hoping it won’t be in Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers.
NEXT: Micah Parsons Sends Warning To Joe Flacco
