The Browns are heading into a tricky roster call this week, and it centers on a quarterback room that’s suddenly crowded. With Dillon Gabriel’s 21-day practice window set to expire on Tuesday, Cleveland has to decide whether to activate him, send him back to injured reserve, trade him, or release him.
Gabriel opened the season on injured reserve with a back injury, and his return now forces general manager Andrew Berry to sort through a group that already includes Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and Taylen Green on the active roster. Keeping four quarterbacks would be an unusual luxury, but that appears to be the direction Cleveland wants to take.
According to Mary Kay Cabot at cleveland.com, the Browns “still hope to keep all four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster when Gabriel is activated this week, and have enough injuries on the team that a player might land on IR to make room. That means the Browns would keep sixth-round pick Taylen Green on the 53 and try to use him down the stretch in some capacity.”
If Cleveland can’t hold onto all four, Cabot reports the team would likely try to sneak Green through waivers and onto the practice squad, though that comes with real risk given how many quarterback injuries have hit the league this season.
The Browns may still need to clear space somewhere else, and right guard Teven Jenkins had been viewed as a possible candidate before he was placed on injured reserve Saturday to make room for running back Dylan Sampson. That removes him from the list of potential moves.
Cabot also reported the current order in the quarterback room: Sanders will stay QB2, with Gabriel projected as QB3 and Green as QB4.
And unless another team puts together an offer Berry “can’t refuse,” there are no plans to deal any of the quarterbacks.
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