The Cleveland Browns‘ quarterback room is slated to get very crowded in the coming weeks, with starter Deshaun Watson establishing himself as a fixture in the starting spot, backed by QB2 Shedeur Sanders and developmental rookie Taylen Green. Those three have held down the quarterback roster spots thus far this season, while former starter Dillon Gabriel has been on the injured reserve list with a back injury.
But, at four weeks, Gabriel’s time on the IR is up, apparently. The team opened his practice window this week, which means the Browns have 21 days to put Gabriel back on the 53-man roster. That’s a somewhat dodgy proposal, because the Browns are a team notably lacking in depth–and carrying four quarterbacks when only one can play is rare in the NFL and the kind of luxury this team can’t afford.
Dillon Gabriel ‘Has Always Been Around’
Gabriel will be welcomes back into the Browns fold, according to Watson, who spoke with the media on Wednesday. In fact, Watson pointed out, Gabriel has never really left, even with the back injury, which was considered mild.
Said Watson: “Dillon has always been around, this whole time. He has been at every meeting, he’s been traveling along with us, he’s been at practice, on the practice field with us, he’s been communicating, giving suggestions within the offense, different reads. DG, man, he is a great teammate, better person. It’s good to have him back on the field, see that he is healthy. All of us in that room, we are one big group, and we got one goal, and that’s to win.”
Browns Have ‘No Plans’ for a Trade
Still, even with the peace among the members of the Browns quarterback room, the depth problem remains, and that has fueled speculation that Cleveland would trade off one of its backups–Sanders is the most frequently mentioned candidate, but Gabriel’s high-efficiency approach could make him an attractive trade target, too.
It is all speculation at this point, though, as the Browns have repeatedly denied, through media proxies, any interest in trading away a quarterback.
As Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com noted this week, “Amid national and local speculation that the #Browns might trade Shedeur Sanders, throwing this report from last week out there again: #Browns have no plans to trade Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel.”
Browns’ Deshaun Watson Opens Up on Dillon Gabriel Amid Rumors