Cleveland opened Dillon Gabriel’s practice window on Tuesday. He had been on injured reserve with a back injury and was originally designated for return on August 30. The Browns now have a 21-day window to activate him, and by reporting they appear ready to use most of it.
That would give a 3-1 team four quarterbacks on its 53-man roster. Todd Monken was asked about it Wednesday and committed to nothing.
“I don’t have to feel any way at this point, we still have three weeks,” Monken said.
What Monken did say about Gabriel
He was complimentary without promising snaps. “He is a good football player, no doubt,” Monken said, and then offered the line that tells you where Gabriel sits right now: “He certainly is like having another coach on the field.”
That is praise for a quarterback’s processing and a signal that he is not displacing anyone this month.
Gabriel won the starting job over Shedeur Sanders in 2025 and threw for 937 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions in 10 games. He is not a developmental project. He is a quarterback who has started NFL games and is healthy again.
The roster math forces a decision
Reporting places Deshaun Watson as the starter with Sanders as the backup and Taylen Green also on the roster, though the depth chart ordering is a characterization from outside the building rather than something Cleveland has confirmed.
Four quarterbacks on a 53-man roster is not sustainable for a team that needs bodies elsewhere. Cleveland has already been shuffling: defensive tackle Kalia Davis came off IR for depth after Mason Graham’s injury, receiver James Proche II and defensive tackle Chris Williams went to the practice squad after Tylan Wallace got hurt, and running back Eric Gray, punter Wes Pahl and tackle Xavier Truss were released from the practice squad.
Trade speculation is the obvious consequence
The chatter is that Cleveland could trade a young quarterback to clear a spot and collect a pick. The team has said that is not the plan, and no actual trade talks have been confirmed.
Both things are probably true. Cleveland is not shopping a quarterback today. Cleveland also has three weeks to decide whether Gabriel, Sanders or Green is the one who does not fit, and the deadline is November 10.
Shedeur Sanders trade rumors have circulated since September. Adding a healthy Gabriel to that room does not quiet them.
Why the Browns can afford to wait
They are 3-1. Watson has engineered three straight fourth-quarter comebacks, including a 27-24 win over Pittsburgh. Whatever anyone thinks of how Cleveland got here, the record says the quarterback situation is not currently costing them games.
Monken is right that three weeks is three weeks. The Browns get to see Gabriel practice, evaluate what he looks like after a back injury, and make the roster decision with information instead of projections.
The interesting part is that the answer might not be the quarterback anyone expected to be the odd man out.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.