Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson are fighting tooth and nail to win the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback job, and despite Sanders outperforming Watson in camp thus far, Watson seems to still have the upper hand. Head coach Todd Monken recently announced that the two of them will each start one of the first two preseason games, but now everyone is wondering which one will start first, which could tip Monken’s hand.
The battle between the two of them is undoubtedly fierce, but there are two other quarterbacks battling it out for potential backup or third-string roles that are both doing well. Rookie sixth-round pick Taylen Green has shown promise, though he’ll likely remain a long-term project for Monken as he tries to incubate his own Lamar Jackson clone. While Green understandably hasn’t seen many reps, the other backup QB is pushing for more reps and has surprised one analyst by the fact that he is even still on the team.
During a recent episode of Afternoon Drive on 92.3 The Fan, Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk called in to talk about Dillon Gabriel. He wondered how he is still on the team since he doesn’t see him having a role on the current roster.
“I’m a little bit surprised that Dillon Gabriel isn’t in Atlanta already. I would think that Gabriel is the odd man out so to speak,” said Simmons.
"I'm a little bit surprised that Dillon Gabriel isn't in Atlanta already. I would think that Gabriel is the odd man out so to speak."
📞 @MylesASimmons w/ @NickWilsonSays and @NickPedone12 on #Browns QB Dillon Gabriel pic.twitter.com/eRTlVM5eJF
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) August 7, 2026
Gabriel is definitely the odd man out unless GM Andrew Berry can find a way to miraculously get out from under the rest of Deshaun Watson’s contract. Sanders likely isn’t going anywhere and you can’t trade Green since he is a rookie, so that leaves just Gabriel as a potential trade candidate.
Cleveland won’t go into the season with four quarterbacks. Kevin Stefanski orchestrated a four-man QB competition in camp last year, but Kenny Pickett was traded before the season began and Joe Flacco was traded just a few weeks into the season, leaving only Gabriel and Sanders to start the rest of the season.
The connection to the Falcons is an easy one to make if Gabriel does become trade fodder. He was clearly Stefanski’s preference over Sanders last season and it would be fun to have three lefty quarterbacks on one roster. Atlanta could also use the insurance since Michael Penix Jr. can’t stop tearing his ACL and Tua Tagovailoa can’t stop getting concussions.
It’s not worth making sense of this quarterback situation until we see them all in action. There are a lot of moving parts and new facts on this team, and Browns fans need to just enjoy the ride. It would be nice to see Gabriel continue to grow under Monken, but it’s to see a future for him in Cleveland at the moment.
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