Given the fact that the Cleveland Browns are carrying four quarterbacks into the 2026 season, in an ideal world, maybe they’d be able to sub in all four throughout the course of each game. Add them all up, and there might be a legitimate starter’s ability among them. As it stands, Deshaun Watson is the starter, Shedeur Sanders is the backup and Dillon Gabriel remains on IR with a back injury. Rookie Taylen Green, the first pick of the sixth round in April’s draft, is in a sort of limbo.
Green, who is 6-foot-6 with 4.36 speed in the 40-yard dash–remarkable for a quarterback–has been the subject of speculation all throughout the spring and summer of the Browns’ offseason. While he is a long way from being able to be an every-down quarterback, Green’s raw athleticism is seen as a weapon the Browns could use in special situations–as a short-yardage runner, in wildcat formations or generally as a decoy to keep the defense honest.
That’s been the theory, and the hope. But as the Week 1 opener in Jacksonville approaches, reality is kicking in.
Browns Would Have Concerns Keeping Taylen Green Active
And that reality is that it’s difficult to field a roster on gamedays that includes three quarterbacks. When you account for all the players the Browns need in special teams–the field-goal unit, the kickoff unit, the punting unit and both return units–there are very few extra spots to be utilized.
The fact that it will be 90 degrees and humid in Jacksonville on Sunday afternoon is a factor, too. Players will wear down. They will need rest. They will cramp up.
The Browns will have Sanders as QB2 on the sideline and as long as Watson is not injured, Sanders won’t play. Having Green on the sideline, too, with the prospect of him seeing the field for one or two plays, is probably not worth the roster spot.
Can Taylen Green Contribute?
This week on the “Orange and Brown Talk” podcast, veteran beat writer Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com was asked about the possibility of keeping Green active this week.
She said: “I don’t know if they can. Todd Monken had said earlier in the week, that three quarterbacks active on game day would be a lot. And it is a lot. Unless you really think that you can get a whole bunch out of Taylen Green, in terms of short yardage, goal line and wildcat plays, then I don’t see how you are going to do it.”
Browns’ Todd Monken: ‘Three Is a Lot’
Monken did tell Browns reporters this week that Green on the field is a “possibility.” But recognizing how short on options the team is, he added, “It’d be nice to have five or six quarterbacks up, but three is a lot.”
So while it may be a longshot, it’s a possibility.
Said Cabot: “I wouldn’t rule it out because–if it were me, I would have him on the gameday roster. I would absolutely have him on there and i would make sure that the Jaguars are worried about that. Because you need any tiny bit of competitive advantage you can get. And there’s probably something he can do that is going to help you in the football game.
“I would have Taylen Green added. But it’s not like he is a gunner, it’s not like he is going to return kickoffs or something like that. If he did some of those things, you could get him on there with some type of confidence, but because he doesn’t play special teams regularly, then I think for that one or two plays you want to use him in the game, I don’t know if you can afford to do it.”
Browns Concerns Raised on Rookie Taylen Green Ahead of Week 1