The Browns are heading into training camp with a quarterback room that suddenly looks crowded, and Dillon Gabriel may be the name that gets squeezed out.
Cleveland’s battle for the starting job between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson still leaves plenty to sort through, but the bigger picture is that the Browns have more quarterbacks on hand than they can comfortably keep. Watson is tied to the roster - and only the roster - through the full 2026 season because of the cap penalties attached to his contract. On top of that, the Browns have three young passers they’ve drafted over the last two years, including Gabriel, the former Oregon standout taken inside the top 100.
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi recently projected the move many around the team already expect: Andrew Berry will try to find a trade partner for Gabriel before the opener. If that happens, Cleveland would move forward with Watson, Sanders and sixth-round rookie Taylen Green on the active roster.
The real issue is what Gabriel would actually bring back.
Recent quarterback trades offer some guidance, especially for backup-level passers taken in the first three rounds and moved before the season begins. The return usually lands somewhere between a strong Day 3 pick and a pick swap.
That’s why a recent idea from Patriots writer Graham Wiliker of Musket Fire stands out - and not in a way Browns fans would love. Wiliker floated a deal that would send a seventh-round pick to Cleveland for Gabriel.
“New England re-signed Tommy DeVito to a two-year deal and selected Behren Morton of Texas Tech in the seventh round,” Wiliker wrote. “DeVito has gotten the lion's share of the backup snaps thus far, but if he tails off or Morton's collegiate injuries persist into their professional career, it could be worth sending a seventh-round pick to Cleveland for Gabriel later in the offseason.”
There is at least one recent trade that makes that kind of return look realistic. In August of 2024, the Titans dealt Malik Willis, their own third-round quarterback, to the Packers for a 2025 seventh-round pick, No. 239 overall.
That move did not age well for Tennessee. Willis thrived in spot-start duty under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay’s loaded offense, then landed a three-year, $67.5 million contract this offseason to become the new starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins.
For the Browns, that’s the cautionary tale. Letting a young quarterback go for almost nothing can come back to haunt you, especially when the player still has room to grow.
There are other comps, too. Trey Lance brought back a fourth-round pick when the 49ers sent him to the Cowboys in 2023, though that was also a clear signal that San Francisco had moved on from a massive draft investment. Mac Jones may be the cleaner comparison for Cleveland: a former first-round pick who had a run as a starter before Jacksonville got him for a sixth-rounder, No. 193 overall.
If the Browns do move Gabriel, the return should land somewhere inside the top-200 range - something like a fifth-round pick in 2028, or at the very least a sixth-rounder in 2027. He’s still a second-year player who was thrown into a brutal midseason starting role last year.
Cleveland can keep all four quarterbacks on the roster this season, and that would make more sense than giving Gabriel away to an AFC team for pennies.
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