Dillon Gabriel should be Browns backup after great game makes mockery of team's QB competition

Dillon Gabriel got squeezed out of the Browns' nonsensical QB competition

What argument is there for Gabriel to be anything less than the backup quarterback given all of the circumstances and context behind the roster construction?

The team's quarterback competition came down to Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, with Watson ultimately winning it. 

Gabriel never seemed to be even an afterthought in that competition or discussion.

What's weird about that is it was just one year ago that the Browns determined Gabriel was a better prospect than Sanders coming out of college. We know this because they took Gabriel with the No. 96 overall pick in the third round, and did not take Sanders until the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round.

They also turned to Gabriel first during the regular season, starting him in games before Sanders.

And while they eventually did go to Sanders, Gabriel's final numbers in a lot of areas were simply better.

He completed a higher percentage of his passes (59.5% to 56.6 percent for Sanders), threw more touchdowns than interceptions (seven touchdowns to only two interceptions; while Sanders threw seven touchdowns to 10 interceptions), threw touchdowns at a higher rate (3.8% of his passes to 3.3% for Sanders) and interceptions at a significantly lower rate (1.1% to 4.7% for Sanders). 

At some point this season, the Browns are going to realize that Watson cannot play anymore and are going to make a change. It seems inevitable. It is likely going to be Sanders who is next in line to get the opportunity. But nothing about that makes sense given the draft position and the tangible performance we have seen from both quarterbacks on the field both during the 2025 season and the 2026 preseason.