Analyst Proposes Wild QB Trade Between Browns, Falcons

One of the widely held perceptions in the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback saga this season was that head coach Kevin Stefanski preferred Dillon Gabriel over Shedeur Sanders, going all the way back to the 2025 NFL Draft. That’s why Gabriel was named the starter when Joe Flacco was benched, and why he remained in place until he got injured. Then, Sanders took over and played well enough to keep the starting job even after Gabriel was healthy.

Now, with Stefanski fired by the Browns, in part because of the quarterback dilemma, and hired as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, perhaps a reunion is in order. That’s because Stefanski’s new team may be ready to move on from current QB Michael Penix Jr.

It’s a situation with many moving parts, but analyst Nick Wilson is proposing a wild QB trade between the Browns and Falcons that would involve the two players.

“Dillon Gabriel for Michael Penix Jr … who says no?” Wilson wrote on X.

Dillon Gabriel for Michael Penix Jr…who says no?

— Nick Wilson (@NickWilsonSays) January 18, 2026

The Falcons may be unlikely to make that deal straight up, unless Stefanski can convince them that’s what he wants. Atlanta used the No. 8 overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft to select Penix, even after giving free agent Kirk Cousins a lucrative contract earlier that offseason.

Meanwhile, the Browns spent only the No. 94 overall selection on Gabriel in the third round of the 2025 draft. They then went ahead and used the No. 144 overall pick on Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round, a move perceived to have been orchestrated by general manager Andrew Berry and owner Jimmy Haslam.

The Browns won just one of Gabriel’s six starts. The rookie completed 59.5 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and two interceptions, and he showed some of the physical shortcomings that were predicted of him as a prospect.

Penix, in his first season as the starter, was beset by the injury concerns that followed him from college. The Falcons won three of his nine starts, as he completed 60.1 percent of his throws for nine TDs and three INTs the following season.

So, on paper, it may look like a reasonable trade, but it would be something of a risk for Stefanski to start somewhere new with a controversial move.