The Cleveland Browns have four quarterbacks on the roster as the first full week of training camp begins, but fans shouldn’t expect that to last very long.
Daniel Oyefusi reported last week that, just as the franchise did last summer, Cleveland entered late July with four signal-callers but will start September with just three.
“For a second consecutive year, the Browns not only have to sort out a competition in training camp but must decide what to do with their four passers,” Oyefusi wrote. “[Deshaun] Watson and [Shedeur] Sanders took the bulk of the reps during the spring, while 2025 third-round pick Dillon Gabriel typically received the remaining reps. [Taylen] Green, the Browns’ sixth-round pick this year, is viewed as a developmental prospect, but the Browns are bullish on his upside.”
“Like last season, a trade to bring the quarterback room to three entering the regular season seems to be a likely outcome,” Oyefusi continued.
Dillon Gabriel Most Logical Trade Candidate in Cleveland
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel faces an uncertain future.
While Oyefusi didn’t say definitively which quarterback the team will deal, a simple process of elimination points to Gabriel as the most logical candidate.
A second-year player and late third-round pick in 2025, Gabriel was a favorite of former head coach Kevin Stefanski. However, Sanders was the fan favorite by a considerable margin.
Sanders did not relinquish the starting job to Gabriel after claiming it from him at halftime in Week 11 following Gabriel’s concussion against the Baltimore Ravens.
Since the offseason began, the Browns fired Stefanski, hired former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken as the new head coach — who liked Sanders as a prospect during last year’s draft — and Watson got healthy.
Watson and Sanders have been in a competition for the QB1 role ever since, while Green was a high-upside/value play in Monken’s first draft at the helm.
Gabriel has 10 appearances and six starts worth of tape from his rookie campaign, and the consensus around the NFL as to his future in the league seems to be as a career reserve with legitimate QB2 potential.
Falcons Make Sense as Trade Suitor for Dillon Gabriel
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Gabriel’s profile as a professional quarterback probably won’t fetch the Browns too much in return, certainly not the third-round pick the team spent to acquire him approximately 16 months ago.
However, the Atlanta Falcons remain a potential landing spot after they hired Stefanski as head coach earlier this offseason. Gabriel has some similarities to Tua Tagovailoa, the former Miami Dolphins starter who Stefanski acquired via free agency in March.
Former top-10 pick Michael Penix Jr. remains on Atlanta’s roster and will ostensibly compete for the starting QB role, though Tagovailoa is the apparent frontrunner as camp begins.
If Penix doesn’t have a longterm future in Atlanta, he could make sense as a trade chip. The Falcons could probably flip Penix for a stronger asset than they would have to send out to Cleveland for Gabriel, get a more sensible fit at the backup position behind Tagovailoa and upgrade a draft pick in the process.
But even if the team doesn’t want to move Penix this summer, Gabriel could still make sense for Atlanta. Trevor Siemian is currently the Falcons’ QB3, and Gabriel should be available for a late Day 3 pick sooner than later.
Browns QB Trade Imminent as Training Camp Kicks Off: Report