The Cleveland Browns’ offense has been stuck in neutral all season and is looking to do anything it can to get rolling behind rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who has lost three of his four starts since taking over for Joe Flacco.
In an effort to turn things around, the Browns made a big change coming out of the bye week, as head coach Kevin Stefanski announced that he will be relinquishing play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
Gabriel recently opened up about what the play-caller change will mean.
“It hasn’t really changed much in terms of day to day. Just going about our business that way, but I think it’ll be good. I think it’ll be good for the guys. Want to get this thing going in the right direction,” Gabriel said.
Browns QB Dillon Gabriel on play caller change. pic.twitter.com/5l24GOHake
— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) November 5, 2025
Gabriel’s first NFL starts haven’t gone as well as many had hoped, but he has shown an ability to take care of the ball that Flacco didn’t.
He didn’t have a turnover in three games until he threw two interceptions against the New England Patriots in a Week 8 loss.
The next steps for Gabriel are to figure out how to navigate the pocket a bit better and get him to push the ball down the field more often.
Gabriel’s longest completion is just 24 yards, and while that is also an indictment on the receivers and the offensive line, it’s something this offense has to improve.
Even if he isn’t completing deep passes, he has to at least attempt them more often to open things up.
Fans will hope that Rees will call some explosive plays when the Browns play the New York Jets in Week 10.
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