Who Should I Start? Dillon Gabriel or Drake Maye

Sunday, December 28, 11:49 AM

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel (shoulder) injured his left shoulder at some point during the week and has been ruled out for the Week 17 divisional clash against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. With Gabriel inactive, Bailey Zappe has been elevated to the 53-man active roster from the practice squad and will serve as rookie Shedeur Sanders' backup this weekend. The 25-year-old Gabriel ended up making six starts for Cleveland in his first year in the NFL in 2025, but he was largely mediocre while failing to push the ball downfield. Gabriel's reign as the team's starting QB ended in Week 11 when he suffered a concussion, opening the door for Sanders to take over. In his six starts, the Oregon product completed 58.9% of his passes for 918 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions while adding 86 rushing yards. Gabriel is expected to compete for the starting gig next year with Sanders and Deshaun Watson (Achilles).

Monday, January 26, 10:19 AM

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye certainly did not have his best game as a passer in his team's AFC Championship Game win over the Denver Broncos, completing 10 of 21 pass attempts for 86 yards and taking five sacks. However, the 23-year-old rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts and did not commit a turnover after coughing up five turnovers over New England's first two postseason games. Given the snowy conditions in Denver and the fact that the Broncos' offense was without QB1 Bo Nix (ankle), it made sense for Maye and the Patriots to opt for a more conservative approach. He will likely be forced to take a few more chances in the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks, who have scored a combined 72 points across two games so far this postseason. Seattle finished the regular season ranked first in the NFL in yards per pass attempt allowed (6.0), so Maye has a difficult task ahead of him.