Dillon Gabriel is officially back.
The Cleveland Browns activated Gabriel from injured reserve Monday and waived rookie tight end Carsen Ryan to open a spot on the 53-man roster, the team announced.
The move leaves Gabriel alongside Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and rookie Taylen Green on the active roster. After weeks of questions about how Cleveland would handle Gabriel’s return, all four quarterbacks are staying put for now.
The Browns faced a Tuesday deadline to activate Gabriel before his 21-day practice window expired. Leaving him on injured reserve would have ended his season.
Earlier Monday, head coach Todd Monken left the door open to keeping the entire group and joked that Cleveland might not stop at four.
“Sure, it’s possible. Hell, it’s possible to pick up one more and we’ll have five,” Monken said.
Keeping four comes with a cost elsewhere on the roster. Ryan became the casualty as Cleveland chose to preserve its quarterback depth with the team sitting atop the AFC North.
Dillon Gabriel Returns After Lengthy Injury Absence
Gabriel had been on injured reserve since Aug. 30 with a back injury. He returned to practice Oct. 6, giving the Browns three weeks to evaluate him before making a roster decision.
The second-year quarterback was a full participant in practice last week but remained unavailable for Sunday’s matchup with the Tennessee Titans. His activation ends an absence that covered Cleveland’s first seven games.
A third-round pick in 2025, Gabriel has appeared in 10 games with six starts. He completed 110 of 185 passes for 937 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions during his rookie season.
Cleveland went 1-5 in Gabriel’s starts last year before Sanders started the final seven games. Gabriel now returns to a different situation, with Watson established as the starter and the Browns winning five of their first seven games under Monken.
Shedeur Sanders Expected to Remain Ahead of Dillon Gabriel
Gabriel’s return does not necessarily mean a change directly behind Watson. Before the activation, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reported that Sanders would remain the Browns’ No. 2 quarterback.
“The Browns have been happy with Sanders’ progress, and believe he’ll show significant improvement if and when he gets his opportunity this season,” Cabot said.
Cabot also reported that Cleveland had no plans to trade Sanders or Gabriel unless another team made an offer too strong to turn down. Keeping all four preserves those options as the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaches.
Watson, meanwhile, is coming off his first 300-yard passing game with Cleveland. He threw for 308 yards and added a rushing touchdown in Sunday’s 27-24 victory over Tennessee, helping the Browns improve to 5-2.
He also delivered his fifth fourth-quarter game-winning drive of the season, moving Cleveland 55 yards in the final minute to set up Andre Szmyt’s winning field goal.
It’s unclear how the Browns will handle the game day quarterback hierarchy. So far, Watson has served as the starter, with Sanders as his backup. Green has been the emergency, No. 3 quarterback.
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