BEREA, Ohio -- When Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski turned to rookie Dillon Gabriel as the team's starting quarterback Oct. 1, he noted that the third-round pick had received practice reps with the first-team offense as the backup to Joe Flacco.
Stefanski, though, when asked Wednesday about fellow rookie and backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders' practice regimen, said the fifth-round pick is not receiving reps with the starting offense.
"With a young quarterback, with Dillon starting, you want to make sure he gets a lot of the reps. It's different when you have a veteran with Joe," said Stefanski, who also noted that Sanders is "still getting reps in a bunch of periods."
Sanders, whose father is Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado football coach Deion Sanders, has served as the backup to Gabriel for the past two games in the aftermath of the Browns trading Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals. Sanders was the No. 3 and emergency quarterback for the first five games of the season.
Before moving to the QB2 role, Sanders was splitting scout team reps with Gabriel and practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe. Stefanski has previously noted that Sanders and other young players also get reps in post-practice sessions.
The Browns are 1-2 since moving to Gabriel, who got his first victory as a starter this past Sunday, a 31-6 home win over the Miami Dolphins. Gabriel has completed 59.8% of his passes for 546 yards and three touchdowns. His 30.4 QBR would rank above only Tennessee Titans rookie Cam Ward (23.9).
