Dillon Gabriel may have entered the Browns’ preseason finale with little room to move in Cleveland’s quarterback race, but he walked out of it with a lot more attention attached to his name.
Against the New England Patriots, Gabriel delivered the kind of outing that can change how teams around the league look at a young quarterback. He threw three touchdowns and finished just shy of a perfect passer rating, a sharp response in a competition that never seemed especially welcoming to him. Even if Cleveland leaves him off the final roster, that performance could give him real trade value.
And if the Browns do decide to move him, there are a few teams that could make sense as landing spots.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a quarterback room behind Baker Mayfield that looks thin on reliability. Jake Browning is the backup, while Jalon Daniels and Connor Bazelak are both young undrafted players.
That setup feels shaky enough that Gabriel could enter the conversation quickly. He would not only profile as a workable third-string option, but he could also push Browning for the QB2 job.
He’d also have a much better group of targets in Tampa Bay, with Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin available to catch his throws.
The New York Jets are another team to watch. They appear committed to making fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik their backup behind Geno Smith, but that arrangement gets uneasy fast if Smith misses time.
Brady Cook is healthy on game days, but the source material describes him as a non-NFL quarterback, which leaves the room looking vulnerable. There is also a familiar face in that building: 2025 Browns quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave now holds the same position under Frank Reich.
That connection could help Gabriel earn support if the Jets look for a QB3.
Carolina also belongs in the mix. The Panthers have gone all-in on Bryce Young, but the depth chart behind him is not exactly comforting, with Kenny Pickett, undrafted Haynes King and Kyle Trask lined up as the backups.
The move to commit to Young says Dave Canales is open to quarterbacks who do not fit the usual size profile, and that could matter for Gabriel. Plenty of teams passed on him after looking at his height, and Carolina may be more willing to see past that.
At the top of the list is Atlanta, where the fit looks especially intriguing. The Falcons are coached by Kevin Stefanski, who may believe in Gabriel as much as any coach in the league.
Atlanta appears more willing to start Michael Penix Jr. over Tua Tagovailoa to open the season, but the rest of the quarterback depth chart is rough. Instead of leaning on Cooper Rush, who looked unplayable last season, or Jack Strand, an undrafted free agent from a Division II school, the Falcons could send a late pick to Cleveland and take Gabriel.
It would also deepen their unusual left-handed quarterback room.
In Other News...
Browns Preseason Rout Put Two Encouraging Storylines In Focus
Dillon Gabriels preseason showing gave Cleveland a useful glimpse at how the quarterback rotation can look when things are clicking. He guided multiple scoring drives in the Browns 37-13 win over New England, and the connection with Luke Floriea stood out with two touchdown passes. For a team still sorting through roster battles and depth-chart questions, it was the kind of clean offensive work that can make August snaps feel meaningful.
The Browns also got what they wanted on the other side of the ball, with the defense stacking up interceptions and sacks while keeping the Patriots from settling in. New England cycled through Tommy DeVito, Behren Morton and Taylen Green at quarterback, but Cleveland controlled the game enough to leave the bigger takeaway on its own sideline. The performance added to two encouraging storylines the Browns can carry deeper into the preseason, even if the real test is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Just Sent A Strong Message In Final Roster Crunch
The Browns 37-13 preseason win over New England did more than pad an August box score. It gave Cleveland one more reminder that the roster it is carrying into the season has started to look deeper and more organized than the one across the field, especially when the game shifted into the kinds of snaps where fringe players are fighting for jobs.
Mike Vrabel came away pointing to the Patriots depth and coverage issues, with the secondary drawing particular concern as the regular season gets closer. For the Browns, the takeaway is less about style points than confidence in the final roster crunch, where every clean series and every reliable reserve matters when cuts and roles are being sorted out. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Just Made Their Quarterback Problem Even Tougher To Solve
The Browns left their preseason finale with a quarterback room that suddenly looks more crowded than clarified. Deshaun Watson is still in the mix, but Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green both turned in promising showings, giving Cleveland more to weigh as it sorts through four passers for a roster that is expected to shrink before the regular season.
Shedeur Sanders is also part of the equation, which only adds to the difficulty of a decision that already carries obvious long-term implications. Cleveland now has to decide which three quarterbacks fit best, and with Gabriel and Green making their case, the final cut may say as much about the Browns future as it does about their immediate plans. [Read more 🡒]