Insider Names 2 Browns QBs Who Could Be Traded

The Cleveland Browns went into the 2025 season with four quarterbacks competing for the starting job. A few weeks into the season, two of them were already traded as Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett were shipped off in favor of prioritizing the development of Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.

Fast forward to this year and Deshaun Watson’s resurgence has muddied the QB waters in a different way. His hold on the starting QB job is now as tight as ever after a 2-1 start and rookie sixth-round pick Taylen Green is an intriguing developmental project for new head coach Todd Monken, leaving Sanders and Gabriel’s futures very much up in the air.

During a recent appearance on The Really Big Show, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler discussed the immediate future of the Browns’ QB room. He believes if a trade is in the cards, it’s going to have to be either Sanders or Gabriel.

“I think Taylen Green, they’d like to keep as a developmental, so it would probably have to be Shedeur or Gabriel. I’m not saying they definitely are trading, I’m just saying they have the flexibility,” said Fowler.

"I think Taylen Green they'd like to keep as a developmental, so it would probably have to be Shedeur or Gabriel," – @JFowlerESPN on which QB the Browns could trade if they did move one. https://t.co/d3G9fr6JRJ pic.twitter.com/gaP574v9Q8

— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) October 1, 2026

The trade deadline is under six weeks away, but there is a different timeline the Browns are up against. Gabriel is eligible to return from IR after this week’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and having four healthy quarterbacks becomes an issue.

QBs are dropping left and right around the NFL, so there would surely be a suitor or two for one of these two young QBs. Fowler stressed that the Browns would likely only trade Sanders if they determined they were comfortable with Gabriel as a backup, which would hint that Gabriel could be the more likely of the two to be sent elsewhere.

Sanders and Gabriel both got extended looks as starters last season, but they won’t get a chance anytime soon with how Watson is playing. Something has to give when Gabriel comes back and these rumors are only going to get louder if Watson keeps winning.