The Cleveland Browns have made it clear that when it comes to the NFL tradition of not having more than three quarterbacks on the roster at a time–and even three is a lot for some teams–they’re not going to worry much about bucking that tradition. The team has Deshaun Watson as the starter, with Shedeur Sanders behind him. Taylen Green is the third-stringer for now as Dillon Gabriel continues to work his way to a return from a back injury that only cropped up as training camp was ending.
Despite a flood of rumors that Sanders, who started seven games last year, would be on the trading block, especially after hiring an agent last week in a surprising bit of news, the team has continued to send out signals that Sanders won’t be dealt. Nor, according to reports, will Gabriel or Green. Bucking tradition.
Browns Ready to Carry 4 QBs
But the reality is that the Browns still have not had to face making roster decisions with four quarterbacks on board, and that is going to get increasingly difficult, especially considering the number of injuries the Browns have had. If players are not going on injured reserve, their 53-man spots remain and the Browns must fill in elsewhere. In other words, unless they get real healthy real fast, the Browns will need Gabriel’s roster spot.
Not yet, though. Gabriel has only had his 21-day return from IR practice window opened, and those 21 days are not up until next week. So, for now, Gabriel is safe.
Dillon Gabriel Has not Future With Browns
But once healthy and back on the roster, the Browns might want to reconsider their stance on Gabriel. They probably won’t but wherever Gabriel winds up as an NFL quarterback, it probably won’t be in Cleveland much longer.
That’s the view of Zac Jackson of The Atheltic. He appeared on 92.3 The Fan and pointed out that it makes little sense to hold back a roster spot for Gabriel, who probably won’t make many more starts in his Browns future.
Said Jackson: “He’s got eight days from now until he has to be, a move has to be made. So that is interesting. Tylan Wallace did not go on IR. Mason Graham and Mike Hall did not go on IR. They had to shuffle at running back but the last two weeks, they just brought up the defensive tackles as they needed them. They have not had any movement. The other defensive tackle, Kalia Davis came back to practice for one day and that was that. So, that is an interesting one. They stashed him the last two weeks, I would imagine you can stash him again and then next Tuesday you have to make them more.”
He continued: “It depends on health and availability. I suppose he could get moved, but to me it is the same as it was in May or in August. Like, yes the Browns would trade Dillon Gabriel, no his future is probably not here. However, what someone would get for him is not what someone would want to give up.”
Browns Dillon Gabriel Gets Blunt Verdict on Future as Deadline Looms