The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback carousel continued its endless spin this offseason when Deshaun Watson beat out Shedeur Sanders for the QB1 job. The two-man competition left little room for Dillon Gabriel to establish himself as anything more than a deep backup on the fringes of the roster.
While Gabriel—a third-round pick in the 2025 draft—was selected ahead of Sanders last year and got an opportunity to start after Cleveland traded Joe Flacco early in the campaign, he failed to spark the club’s listless offense. Gabriel went just 1-5 across six starts, finishing his rookie season with modest marks that included a 59.5 percent completion rate, 937 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns.
Gabriel won’t even open 2026 on the active roster, beginning instead on the IR as he works to return from a back injury suffered in the team’s preseason finale. The Browns still opted to keep three passers on the active roster, with rookie sixth-rounder Taylen Green slotting in as their QB3.
Green fared well in his lone preseason showing and is shaping up to be far more appealing developmental prospect than Gabriel, who appears to be the odd man out in Cleveland’s quarterback room. Gabriel’s trade value isn’t much at this point, but the team could still recoup some capital from a club looking to pad out its depth and take on a rehabilitation project for pennies on the dollar.