Former Notre Dame football offensive coordinator Tommy Rees continues to have his hands full at his new job. While there is some excitement over the Cleveland Browns’ “new look” offense, there’s also plenty of discussion about just who will win the starting quarterback job and the kind of backlash that could form if it's not Shedeur Sanders.
Rees, and everyone else in the NFL got a preview fo that freak out when Sanders wasn’t selected in the NFL Draft until the fifth round. Shortly after the Browns finally took him, there were more than a few talking heads who claimed “conspiracy” as one of the big reasons why.
Tommy Rees’ Browns QB battle pits Dillon Gabriel against Shedeur Sanders for 2025 starting job
So what’s going to happen if the former Notre Dame football OC and the rest of the Browns staff decide someone else should start under center in 2025? According to Cleveland beat writer Mary Kay Cabot, it’s a real possibility. Fellow 2025 NFL Draft choice Dillon Gabriel could end up being “the man,” the writer said on the Rich Eisen show earlier this week.
“The Browns are also very, very excited about Dillon Gabriel, their third-round pick,” Cabot said. “And then the way it played out yesterday, is the way that I thought it would, is that Shedeur right now is the fourth team quarterback. He did not take any team reps yesterday.”
That’s a bit of a shock to the analysts, who have praised Sanders since OTAs began earlier this spring.
“Sometimes there’s misinformation that comes out of an OTA like that, but he just did not take any team reps,” Cabot added. “Not just that he wasn’t the second guy or the first guy, he didn’t take any 11’s on 11’s yesterday. So he did a really nice job in his 7-on-7s, a great job, but they’re making him come up the learning curve and earn his way.”
On it’s face, that’s exactly how Tommy Rees should handle the situation. After all, his job is on the line if the Browns make a mistake here. However, it’s clear the former Notre Dame football staffer is about to take some serious slings and arrows from a devoted Shedeur Sanders fanbase.