The Browns may finally be reaching the point where Dillon Gabriel’s future has to be decided.
Dillon Gabriel is eligible to come off injured reserve as soon as this week, and that puts Cleveland in a tight spot. The Browns are unlikely to keep four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, which means some kind of move is coming in the near future.
At the top of the depth chart, Deshaun Watson has changed the conversation. After a disastrous season opener, he has strung together three solid outings and appears to be getting better each week. With Todd Monken backing him and the organization eager to squeeze as much value as possible out of its investment, Watson would probably have to crater badly to lose the job.
That leaves the backup picture, and that’s where Gabriel starts to look expendable. Shedeur Sanders has had a firm hold on the No. 2 spot since the beginning of the offseason, which leaves Gabriel in a tricky middle ground behind Watson and ahead of rookie Taylen Green.
Green is still the developmental piece in the room. He has not been active for a game yet, but the Browns could still find inventive ways to get him on the field later this season. Cleveland is clearly high on the sixth-round pick.
Gabriel, by contrast, has never really seemed central to the plan. Monken said the team had two starting quarterbacks on the roster - Watson and Sanders - and Gabriel’s path only looks thinner now. He even gave up his jersey number after the Browns traded for Jared Verse, and his back injury on roster cutdown day, which landed him on short-term injured reserve, looks even more curious now that he has been practicing without restrictions this week.
There’s also the football fit. Gabriel is a left-handed quarterback, which would require the offensive line to make adjustments if he were ever pushed into action. His preseason play was solid, but his physical limitations are always going to put a ceiling on him.
Still, quarterbacks carry value, and that could work in Cleveland’s favor. With Watson, Sanders, and Green all healthy and settled into their roles, the Browns would likely move Gabriel for a Day 3 draft pick if the chance is there.
And from Gabriel’s side, the case for a fresh start is just as clear. He doesn’t appear to have a realistic route to snaps in Cleveland anytime soon.
Green brings the scramble element. Sanders has the size and stronger arm.
Watson is Monken’s guy. That leaves Gabriel as the odd man out.
In Other News...
Deshaun Watson Just Gave The Browns Another Unwanted Distraction
The Browns were handed another bit of off-field clutter this week when the NFL fined Deshaun Watson and Quinshon Judkins for an illegal celebration during the game against the Steelers. The gesture, which involved pretending to smoke, drew unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties and added one more item to a season already full of noise around Cleveland.
Watson was fined $14,926 and Judkins $14,397, with the leagues decision coming before the Browns Week 5 matchup against the Jets. It is the kind of small but avoidable distraction Cleveland would rather do without, especially when every week seems to bring a fresh reminder that discipline issues can quickly become part of the larger conversation around this team. [Read more 🡒]
Todd Monken Just Hit A Nerve With Browns Fans Over Minkah Fitzpatrick
Todd Monkens latest comments landed in a part of Cleveland that still hasnt cooled off. The Browns first-time head coach was asked about the high helmet-to-helmet hit Minkah Fitzpatrick delivered on rookie KC Concepcion during the recent game against the New York Jets, and Monken called it a bang-bang play while saying Fitzpatrick is not a dirty player. It was the kind of measured answer coaches usually give in the moment, but in this case it immediately stirred up plenty of frustration from Browns fans already primed to see the play through a different lens.
Fitzpatrick was not ejected, though he is expected to be fined for the illegal contact, and that only sharpened the reaction around Monkens defense of him. For Cleveland supporters, the issue is not just the hit itself but the memory attached to the player delivering it, which made the coachs choice of words feel especially touchy in the aftermath. In a rivalry that already carries enough baggage, this was a reminder that even a routine postgame explanation can turn into its own storyline. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Roethlisberger Just Handed Browns Fans The Perfect Reminder
Ben Roethlisberger found a way to stir the pot again, even if it was in jest. On a recent podcast, the former Steelers quarterback made a joking comment that suggested he had never lost to the Browns, a line that immediately invites a fact-check in Cleveland, where the franchise has beaten Pittsburgh multiple times and owns a more recent playoff win than its old rival.
For Browns fans, the bigger takeaway might be the reminder that Pittsburghs long-standing mystique has been chipped away more than once in this matchup. Cleveland has won five straight home games against the Steelers, and Roethlisbergers uncertainty about labeling any team a true contender entering Week 5 only adds to the feeling that the AFC Norths old assumptions no longer hold up the way they used to. [Read more 🡒]