Six quarterbacks are on the Cleveland Browns‘ roster. A few of them are competing for a chance to become the team’s next starting quarterback, but Deshaun Watson is still injured.
Between Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders, someone will emerge as a starter. The Browns also recently added veteran Tyler Huntley to compete while Pickett and Gabriel overcome some recent mild injuries. Flacco’s excuse is simply due to being 40 years old.
While the Browns are looking for the best overall QB to emerge from a crowded pack of competition, Cleveland has already received several trade offers for one of them.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Browns got multiple trade offers for Gabriel shortly after making him a third-round pick back in April. In other words, Gabriel was not ‘overdrafted’ or a ‘reach’ by some NFL standards.
“I’d confirm Mike Silver’s report that the Browns got trade offers for Dillon Gabriel on the Saturday morning of draft weekend, which essentially confirms the interested teams were prepared to take him in the fourth round (despite perception that he was overdrafted in the third round). How did the idea that he could go that high fly under the radar? I’ve heard Gabriel crushed his meetings with teams, and many saw his floor, as a result, as a long-term backup.”
SI’s Albert Breer on Dillon Gabriel
While some teams may have had a lower draft grade on Gabriel, as we know, all it takes is one organization to fall in love with a prospect. In the Browns’ case, it never hurts to take a chance on a quarterback; you never know who will develop into a starter or even a superstar.
The Browns obviously won’t keep six quarterbacks on the roster by the time the team is trimmed from 90 down to 53 players. Huntley may be on the way out, since he was the last one in. Since he’s injured, Watson won’t take up a spot on the Browns’ 53-man roster either.
Still, it’s hard to envision the Browns turning around and trading Gabriel less than six months after the team agreed to draft him over several other players. In other words, it would take an offer far too good to refuse.
Related: Shedeur Sanders May Have Changed Cleveland Browns’ Plans
Sports fan since birth. I am also passionate about cars, music, and anything funny. Minnesotan, born and raised. Maybe ... More about Andrew Buller-Russ