Taylen Green may be the very definition of an “emergency quarterback” for the Cleveland Browns, as the raw sixth-round rookie was kept on the 53-man roster through the NFL deadline. That choice was made much easier after Dillon Gabriel reportedly suffered a back injury in the preseason finale and was placed on injured reserve.
But that means the Browns are left with Green behind starter Deshaun Watson and backup Shedeur Sanders heading into at least the first four weeks of the season. An injury to either of them would move Green up to QB2, and then, if the other one were to be sidelined, Green could find himself as an NFL starter less than a month into his career.
According to insider Zac Jackson of The Athletic, that is far from the plan the Browns have for Green this season, as they see him more as a specialty player somewhere down the line.
“Green likely will be a game day inactive and the emergency quarterback early in the season, but he could eventually be used as a short-yardage runner and gadget player,” Jackson wrote.
The Browns chose to keep Green on the roster rather than trying to get him through waivers and onto the practice squad. Even if no team had claimed him, Green would have become a free agent at that point and would have been able to sign with any team that may have been able to offer him a better opportunity or infrastructure than the Browns could.
The No. 182 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Green may never become a typical NFL quarterback. Though he has impressive arm talent, he may be lacking in the finer points of the position to truly succeed at the level necessary.
But his running ability is unique, and he could prove to be a very effective weapon on third down and in the red zone. Browns head coach Todd Monken undoubtedly has some ideas in mind after working with Lamar Jackson as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator for the past three seasons.
Of course, Green would have to be active on game day for Monken to put those plans to use, so it will be interesting to see how long it takes before he gets on the field for his NFL debut.
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