Why Browns reportedly made this Dillon Gabriel decision amid Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson competition

An update from earlier this summer indicated that first-year Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken hadn't completely slammed the door shut on 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel possibly emerging as the club's 2026 Week 1 starting quarterback. 

However, there continues to be no sign that Gabriel will be given a legitimate opportunity to leapfrog a healthy Shedeur Sanders and a healthy Deshaun Watson on the Cleveland depth chart before August comes to an end. For an article published on Wednesday, Zac Jackson of The Athletic explained why the Browns likely won't part ways with Gabriel before training-camp practices get underway.

Browns are not ready to "give" Dillon Gabriel away

"Gabriel is under contract for three more seasons," Jackson wrote. "And the Browns aren’t just going to give him away. Gabriel will open his second pro season as the clear No. 3 on the quarterback depth chart. The camp competition for the starting job will be mostly between Watson and Sanders, but last year’s camp competition didn’t make it a week before Kenny Pickett suffered a hamstring injury, and the order of everything changed."

Monken wasn't part of the old Cleveland coaching staff that worked with Gabriel when the signal-caller went 1-5 over six starts as a rookie before he suffered a concussion. Gabriel never returned to the starting lineup before the end of the 2025 regular season, and he seems to be buried on the Browns' depth chart this summer. 

That said, the previously mentioned Watson has a worrisome injury history. He hasn't taken an in-game snap since he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in October 2024, and there's no guarantee he will be good to go for Cleveland's Week 1 game at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13. 

Browns will only trade Dillon Gabriel if this happens

"The Browns will only trade Gabriel if they feel they can get something of consequence in return," Jackson added. "There’s a scenario in which the primary competitors for the starting job stay healthy and sixth-round rookie Taylen Green makes a real push for a roster spot, forcing the Browns to make a decision on Gabriel in late August. But keeping four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster is possible, and it’s too early to know how Green will perform — or even how much opportunity he will get. Watson will be on the active roster even if he doesn’t win the job because the Browns can’t afford to cut him under the league’s salary-cap rules, but the depth chart and the rest of the quarterback room’s makeup are unsettled."

Gabriel likely has no long-term future with the Browns, but the club also doesn't need to make any major decision about his status anytime soon. After all, he could be one misstep away from serving as Cleveland's QB2 on the second Sunday of September.