The Browns made one of the most eye-catching roster calls in the league when they kept four quarterbacks after the deadline to get down to 53, and that decision may not stay quiet for long.
Cleveland rolled into Week 1 with Deshaun Watson, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders and Taylen Green all still in the mix. Watson, Sanders and Green are on the 53-man roster, while Gabriel is dealing with a back injury that appeared suddenly and landed him on injured reserve.
The part that raised eyebrows wasn’t Watson, whose contract makes him a different kind of case altogether. It was what Cleveland chose to do with the rest of the room.
Sanders, the most talked-about quarterback on the roster and the backup to Watson, has been the center of nonstop chatter - whether he’d end up starting, whether he’d be cut, whether another team might try to pry him away. But the information gathered around the situation points the other way: the Browns never intended to move on from him, and before the season there may not have been many calls at all about trading him.
Gabriel also spent the summer in the rumor mill. As the battle between Sanders and Watson played out in camp, Gabriel drifted into a difficult spot, with his ceiling already viewed as that of a backup.
Once Cleveland added another quarterback in the draft, the cut-or-trade talk followed. Instead, Gabriel stayed in the organization when the 53-man roster was set, with the injured reserve designation keeping him around for now.
Green’s case was different. The sixth-round pick is a gifted athlete, but he remains raw as a passer.
Still, the Browns had a real decision on their hands after the preseason finale. If they had tried to waive him, there’s a good chance another team would have jumped in and claimed him.
He also had only limited chances to work in practice, and when he did get those reps, he made them count.
That kind of quarterback depth can matter fast in the NFL, and the early part of the 2026 season has already started to stress the position around the league. Sam Darnold was injured in the first half of the opener and, while he’s expected back soon, the uncertainty around his hip injury is worth watching. Former Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski is already down to his third-string quarterback, Cooper Rush, with Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa both hurt before their first game.
Watson still sits in a different category because of his contract, but the Browns’ willingness to carry four quarterbacks could end up looking smart if injuries keep piling up elsewhere. Gabriel’s steadiness could draw interest once he’s off injured reserve, and a team might be willing to part with a Day 2 or high Day 3 pick and/or a quality player. Sanders or Green could also become appealing enough for another club to make a move for one of Cleveland’s backups.
Cleveland may not have the quarterback of its own future on the roster. But it might just have the quarterback of someone else’s immediate future.
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