The Browns have finally made their call on Dillon Gabriel, and it reshapes more than just the quarterback room.
On Monday, Cleveland activated Gabriel from injured reserve as his 21-day practice window was about to run out. To clear space, the team waived seventh-round rookie tight end Carsen Ryan. The move keeps the Browns from exposing Gabriel to waivers and, at least for now, preserves the club’s ability to hang onto all four quarterbacks on the roster.
That matters with the 2026 trade deadline coming Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Gabriel is back on the active roster, fully healthy now and, by the looks of it, probably healthy for a while. He should slide right back into the third-string role he held throughout training camp and the team’s three preseason games.
It also changes the math for a few teammates, some for the better and some not so much.
Winner: Dillon Gabriel
This was the obvious outcome once the Browns let his practice clock keep ticking. NFL teams can’t stash healthy players on injured reserve, so activating Gabriel was really the only move left.
The bigger win is control. If Cleveland decides to deal a quarterback before the deadline, Gabriel is now on the active roster and at least has a chance to have a say in where he lands. If the Browns had cut him Monday, he would have had to clear waivers first, and his next stop would have been out of his hands.
Loser: Carsen Ryan
Ryan’s day was rough from the jump. The Browns moved on from the rookie tight end even though the room behind Harold Fannin Jr. is thin.
Cleveland now has just two tight ends on the active roster: Fannin and Blake Whiteheart.
Ryan was always a long shot as a seventh-round pick, but he did bring a profile the Browns could use - an inline blocker with enough versatility to handle some H-back duties. There’s still a chance he circles back on the practice squad, especially with tight end being such a glaring need in Cleveland.
Winner: Blake Whiteheart
Whiteheart was already ahead of Ryan, and this move only widens that gap.
He’s logged 149 snaps this season as Fannin’s backup, while Ryan hasn’t taken an offensive snap since Week 4 and has been limited to special teams. Whiteheart wasn’t viewed as a lock when he re-signed on a one-year deal in the offseason, but injuries and opportunity have worked in his favor.
Jack Stoll’s injury helped carve out a bigger role, and Ryan’s release only makes Whiteheart’s grip on the roster stronger heading toward 2026.
Loser: Taylen Green
Green avoided the bad news that hit Ryan, but Gabriel’s return still pushes him down the ladder.
The sixth-round rookie has been the Browns’ emergency QB3 this season, and now he’s one spot further from meaningful action. How Cleveland handles four quarterbacks on game days will be worth watching.
The Browns could dress Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders as the two active quarterbacks while leaving Gabriel and Green inactive. Either way, Green’s hold on the QB3 label is suddenly not so secure.
Winner: Michael Burton
Burton looked like a realistic cut candidate because of his vested-veteran status. Cleveland could have moved on from the 34-year-old fullback and tried to bring him back on the practice squad.
Instead, he may have helped his cause on Sunday.
Burton played only 11 offensive snaps, but Pro Football Focus gave him a 73.7 run-blocking grade. That came during the Browns’ best rushing performance of the season: 183 yards, 6.3 yards per carry, and three touchdowns.
Todd Monken wanted Burton on the roster, and right now it doesn’t seem like that’s changing.
Loser: Shedeur Sanders
Gabriel’s activation may not change Sanders’ situation at all. But if it does, the direction is not ideal.
Sanders has been the clear No. 2 behind Watson and was ahead of Gabriel from the start of the spring program. Having another quarterback from the same draft class back in the mix is still a complication.
If Cleveland makes a move before the deadline, Gabriel’s presence on the active roster makes Sanders’ future with the team feel a little less settled than it did a week ago.
In Other News...
Browns Fans Have A Real Beef With How The League Treated Steelers Week
The AFC North is suddenly looking every bit like the leagues most compelling division race, with the Browns and Steelers both sitting at 5-2 after Week 7 and Cincinnati right there after a win of its own. Clevelands next meeting with Pittsburgh had enough juice for the NFL to at least consider moving it into a prime-time spotlight, especially with both teams playing meaningful football this early in the season.
Instead, the league kept Eagles-Commanders in the Sunday night window, leaving Browns fans to wonder why a showdown with real division stakes did not get the extra stage. Cleveland still has plenty to play for, and Deshaun Watsons knack for late-game drives has been a major reason why, with five game-winning marches already this season. The issue now is not whether the Browns belong in the conversation, but whether the schedule makers saw the matchup the same way the standings do. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Set Up A Huge Steelers Showdown With First Place At Stake
The Browns Week 7 win over the Titans kept them in a familiar place for this point in October, sitting atop the AFC North at 5-2 and putting the division race squarely on their next game. Around them, the playoff picture in the AFC is already tightening, and the standings only sharpen the importance of every head-to-head matchup inside the division.
Pittsburgh now waits in Week 8 for a rematch that carries first place on the line, which is exactly the kind of late-October game that starts to tell you who is for real. The bigger league-wide backdrop is just as interesting, with both the AFC North and NFC North featuring all four teams above .500, a reminder that the division race in Cleveland is unfolding inside one of the NFLs deepest neighborhoods. [Read more 🡒]
Deshaun Watson May Have Finally Changed What Was Holding Browns Back
Deshaun Watsons most encouraging afternoon of the season may have been less about the box score than the way it looked while it was happening. In the Browns win over the Titans, Watson completed 70 percent of his passes on a season-high 36 attempts, and the bigger takeaway was the way he played within the offense. He looked more decisive, got rid of the ball faster and helped Cleveland find a rhythm that had been missing for much of the year.
The adjustment appears to have started after that rough first half in Week 6, when the offense seemed to hit a wall. Since then, Watson has leaned more on the passing game and less on his legs, a shift that has fit better under Todd Monken and made Clevelands attack look far more functional. The question now is whether this was a one-game reset or the start of a real change in how the Browns want to move forward. [Read more 🡒]