The Cleveland Browns left Thursday night with a 37-13 win over the New England Patriots, but the preseason finale created a much messier problem inside the quarterback room.
What looked like a simple roster trim suddenly turned into a real puzzle. Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green both made strong cases to stick around, which only complicated matters for a team that already has Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders on the depth chart.
Gabriel, the second-year quarterback drafted in the top 100 picks of the 2025 draft, finally flashed why the Browns invested in him. He threw for 186 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and helped the Browns score 27 points.
That stood out even more because Cleveland had managed only 14 points combined in its first two preseason games. His performance may not have erased every doubt, but it absolutely changed the conversation around his roster status.
Gabriel’s appeal goes beyond the box score. He has been praised for his grasp of an offense, and that kind of steadiness could matter as Cleveland adjusts to Todd Monken’s new scheme.
Still, there’s a catch: even after a big night, he may be the most likely quarterback to be moved, since he was doing his work against backups and players who may not be in the NFL next week. The Browns also used a top 100 pick on him, which makes a cut hard to justify and a trade difficult to value properly.
Green brought a different kind of argument. The sixth-round pick didn’t do much as a passer, finishing with 27 yards through the air, but he rushed eight times for 66 yards and showed off the raw athleticism that made him intriguing in the first place.
One sequence summed him up perfectly: he was inches from stepping out of the end zone for a safety and somehow turned it into a thirty-yard gain. He moves like a problem, and that gives him a chance to help right away in gadget plays or red zone packages.
Then there are the two quarterbacks already at the top of the room. Watson is not going anywhere because of his contract, and Sanders was in the fight for the starting job all through training camp.
The Browns named him the starter and he will have to play for his pay. He has not shown that he can be a starting level quarterback in the NFL since 2020, and the Browns can carry him this season before moving on next year.
Sanders will probably get a handful of starts this season, but the expectation around him remains uneven. He has spent time with the first string offense, and if Cleveland cuts him before the season, it may have to lean on Gabriel or Green sooner than it wants to.
Sanders can deliver big-play highlights, but also head scratchers.
Watson’s own situation is hardly any cleaner. His performance has not convinced many that he will start all season, and he has not had a healthy season in six years.
That leaves Andrew Berry with a roster squeeze that is bigger than a simple numbers game. NFL teams usually keep two quarterbacks on the game-day roster and stash a third on the practice squad, but Cleveland appears to have four quarterbacks who all bring some level of value and some level of risk.
Green may be attractive enough for another team to claim if he’s cut. Gabriel may be too useful to give away for nothing.
Sanders may be too experienced in the system to let go lightly. Watson cannot be moved.
The Browns can cut Green and hope he clears waivers to land on the practice squad, but that is no sure thing. There were rumors that Green was slotted to be drafted by multiple AFC North teams if Cleveland had not taken him with the 182nd pick, and his upside may be too tempting for another club with a steadier quarterback situation.
If the Browns somehow keep all four, the next question becomes simple and uncomfortable: which position group loses a roster spot? For now, Cleveland’s quarterback room is the kind of problem teams usually dream about having - except this one still doesn’t have an answer.
In Other News...
Browns Put Patriots On The Ropes With A First Half Statement
The Browns spent the first half making their point against New England, building a 27-13 lead that had Cleveland in control well before the break. The offense found a steady rhythm with a mix of touchdowns and field goals, and Luke Floriea was among the names helping keep the pressure on while the Patriots worked to answer with their own touchdown and a pair of kicks from Andy Borregales.
For a Browns team looking to set the tone early, the bigger question was whether that sharp opening could hold up after halftime. Patriots quarterback Behren Morton still had enough time to chip away at the deficit, but Cleveland had already done the hard part by turning its first-half chances into separation, leaving the rest of the afternoon to hinge on whether the Patriots could find a way back into it. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Just Sent A Strong Message In Final Roster Crunch
A preseason game can tell you plenty about the team on the scoreboard, and the Browns 37-13 win over the Patriots did exactly that. Cleveland played with more depth and more polish, and New England coach Mike Vrabel came away pointing to a familiar late-summer problem for any roster on the bubble: whether the backups are ready when the real games start.
For Cleveland, it was the kind of performance that can matter in a final roster crunch, because these are the games that help separate players who merely survive camp from those who make a case to stick. The Patriots, meanwhile, were left to sort through coverage issues in the secondary and other depth concerns as the regular season gets closer, which only adds to the sense that every spot on the bottom of the roster is still very much in play. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Still Face Two Tough Roster Calls After Strong Preseason Showings
The Browns are closing in on the August 30 deadline to trim the roster to 53 players, and most of the conversation around the roster has already shifted from who will make it to which of the final few spots will be hardest to sort out. Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders look locked in, but the back end of the depth chart still has some real intrigue, especially at wide receiver and quarterback as Cleveland gets ready for its September 13 opener.
Gage Larvadain and Cedric Tillman have both come up as possible cuts at receiver, while Dillon Gabriel appears to be the odd man out as the third-string quarterback even after turning in a strong preseason. It is the kind of late-August math every staff has to do, weighing upside, fit and roster construction against what showed up in exhibition games, and for the Browns there is still one more round of tough calls before the regular season picture is complete. [Read more 🡒]