Browns name Shedeur Sanders as No. 2 QB ahead of Sunday’s game vs. Steelers

Shedeur Sanders will serve as the No. 2 quarterback behind starter Dillon Gabriel for Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Friday.

Last Tuesday’s trade of opening day starter Joe Flacco left just two rookie quarterbacks on the Browns’ active roster: Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.

Stefanski previously would not share his plans for the quarterback depth chart, saying he needed to let the practice week and “do what’s right” for all of the players. The Browns also have Bailey Zappe on the practice squad, but unless they sign Zappe to the active roster before Saturday, they’ll have just two active quarterbacks this week.

The Browns have been clear that they view Sanders as a developmental prospect, and Sanders was the emergency No. 3 quarterback for the first five games. Sanders told reporters Thursday that he believes he’s ready to play, but he did not reveal the team’s plans for this weekend — or if he knew of them at the time.

“I would say you tend to get a bit more excited when you see a light at the end of the tunnel for sure,” Sanders said. “My job at first was to prepare the defense and I think I did a pretty good job. Whatever my role is, I’m thankful and I’m happy.

“I think every day you learn something about yourself that you didn’t know the day before. I feel like now I’m ready — not saying I wasn’t ready before, but now I’m ready for whenever my opportunity is.”

Zappe started last year’s regular-season finale for the Browns and has made nine career starts. The Browns didn’t bring him back last offseason as they remade their quarterback room, but he joined the practice squad in late August after being cut by Kansas City.

Gabriel last week became the 41st starting quarterback of the franchise’s new era. This week, he’ll become the 15th different Cleveland quarterback to start in Pittsburgh, where the Browns have lost 21 straight regular-season games. Though the Browns won in Pittsburgh in the playoffs following the 2020 season, their last regular-season win there came on Oct. 5, 2003.