Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay took a closer look at backup quarterbacks around the league who could realistically be moved before the November 10 trade deadline, and Dillon Gabriel landed at No. 2 on that list. Kay factored in contract value, current role, and projected asking price, and Cleveland’s crowded quarterback room made Gabriel an obvious candidate given how far he has fallen on the depth chart since his rookie season.
Kay explained why Gabriel now looks like the most likely trade candidate among Cleveland’s quarterbacks.
“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,” Kay wrote.
Gabriel’s path to this point has been a difficult one. Selected in the third round of the 2025 draft, he actually got the nod ahead of Sanders early last season after Cleveland traded away Joe Flacco, but the opportunity did not go well. Gabriel went just 1-5 as a starter across 6 games, completing 59.5 percent of his passes for 937 yards and 7 touchdowns, numbers that failed to spark an offense already struggling to find consistency. That rocky rookie stretch set the stage for this offseason’s 2 man competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, a battle that left Gabriel with little room to reestablish himself as anything more than a depth piece.
Gabriel’s situation only grew more complicated when the 53-man roster was announced. He will begin 2026 on injured reserve while recovering from a back injury suffered in the team’s preseason finale, sidelined for at least the first 4 weeks of the season. That leaves rookie sixth-round pick Taylen Green to slide into the QB3 role.
Whether the Browns ultimately move on from Gabriel or simply let him work his way back from injury within an already crowded room, his standing within the organization looks considerably different than it did when he was handed the starting job just one year ago.
NEXT: Insider Shares Hopeful Outlook For Browns In 2026
