Cleveland’s quarterback depth chart took a hit Sunday, with Dillon Gabriel landing on injured reserve and set to miss the first four games of the 2026 season.
The Browns made the move as teams across the NFL trimmed rosters to the 53-player limit. Gabriel, the Oregon Ducks star and Heisman Trophy finalist, is dealing with a back injury he suffered during Thursday’s preseason finale against New England.
The injury comes at a frustrating time for the rookie, who had just put together his best showing of the preseason. In Cleveland’s 37-13 win over the Patriots, Gabriel completed 12 of 15 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half, and looked like he had made a real push for the No. 3 job behind starter Deshaun Watson and backup Shedeur Sanders.
That role now goes to Taylen Green, a sixth-round pick out of Arkansas. Green went 5 of 7 for 27 yards in the second half against New England and earned a spot on the Browns’ 53-man roster as the third quarterback.
Gabriel, a third-round pick in 2025, said after Thursday’s game that the strong outing felt encouraging after the first two preseason games didn’t go as well and he was working with limited practice reps behind Watson and Sanders.
“I don’t think frustrating is the word,” Gabriel told reporters. “I think challenging is.
It’s interesting, as somebody who just comes to work every day and tries to put one foot in front of the other, maximize what you get. That’s all I’ve tried to do.”
Cleveland opens the season Sept. 13 at Jacksonville.
In Other News...
Oregon Just Got Another Reason To Believe This Team Is Different
Oregon is heading into the 2026 season with a national spotlight it has earned, not inherited. The Ducks open at No. 2 in the AP poll and, according to ESPNs Top-100 college football players, they also have eight players on the list, more than any other FBS team. That kind of depth is usually what separates contenders from the pack, and it starts with quarterback Dante Moore sitting at No. 11, followed by defensive tackle AMauri Washington at No. 16 and cornerback Brandon Finney Jr. at No. 24.
What makes the number even more striking is how much star power it hints at on both sides of the ball. Oregon is not leaning on one elite name to carry the burden, and that gives the Ducks a different kind of credibility as the season approaches. The rankings are only a snapshot, of course, but for a program trying to prove it can stay at the front of the sport, this is the sort of recognition that suggests the roster is built to last. [Read more 🡒]
Which Former Ducks Survived NFL Cuts And Who Didn't
NFL teams have trimmed down to their 53-man rosters for the 2026 season, and the latest round of cuts offered a familiar snapshot for Oregon fans tracking the league. The Ducks were well represented among the survivors, with quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Bo Nix both making their teams, while all seven Oregon players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft also stuck on rosters after the preseason.
Not every former Duck found a landing spot, though. DJ Johnson and Troy Hill were among the veterans who were cut, and former Oregon running back Noah Whittington was let go by the Houston Texans after signing as an undrafted free agent. The rookies who did make it out of camp have given Oregon supporters some early reasons to pay attention, especially linebacker Bryce Boettcher and safety Dillon Thieneman, whose preseason work helped them keep their places, even as the full picture of this years Ducks-in-the-NFL group continues to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Commit Tae Walden Jr. Is Showing Difference-Maker Potential
Tae Walden Jr. has already built the kind of high school tape that makes a college staff lean in and keep watching. The four-star Oregon cornerback commit has stood out for Collierville with his speed and knack for making things happen, and the Dragons have even found ways to get him involved on offense, including in wildcat looks, a sign of how much they trust him with the ball in his hands.
For Oregon, the intrigue goes beyond the athletic flashes. Walden is expected to settle in at cornerback in Eugene, where his raw tools could give the Ducks a real difference-maker down the line, even if he starts out more as a developmental piece than an immediate answer. The fact that several major programs pushed for him before he committed only adds to the sense that Oregon may have landed a player whose best football is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]