The Cleveland Browns shook up their quarterback room last night, trading Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick.
This move opened up the Browns' quarterback room, leaving Oregon's Dillon Gabriel and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders as the lone backups in Cleveland behind veteran Joe Flacco.
Heavy.com's Max Dible believes that Gabriel was the big winner after yesterday's transactions, and it's not hard to see why.
Gabriel Named 'Big Winner' Following Pickett Trade
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Dible believes Gabriel has been entrenched as the backup quarterback behind Flacco, and if the 40-year-old goes down with injury or is benched for poor play, the Oregon product is next in line to start.
"The Browns are likely to lean on Flacco for at least the first six weeks of the campaign, which is a brutal stretch of schedule that includes the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 and then five consecutive games against teams that made the playoffs in 2024." [Wrote](https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/cleveland-browns/kenny-pickett-raiders-trade-dillon-gabriel/) Dible.
"After that run of schedule is finished and/or Cleveland’s playoff chances become slim to none, the Browns are likely to move Gabriel into a starting role. At some point, the team may also get Sanders some run as the starter, though that may depend on how well Gabriel plays (if at all) during the middle and/or second half of the season."
Considering the Browns drafted Gabriel in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and Sanders in the fifth, it's safe to assume that they think more highly of the former Duck as a prospect. Sanders will most likely be behind him on the depth chart.
With Pickett gone, the Browns could also look to bring back recently released Tyler Huntley, who played for them in the preseason, just to have another veteran presence in the quarterback room.
If Gabriel has a shot to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, this is it, and with the QB2 job his to lose, he'll look to take advantage of any playing opportunities he gets during the 2025 season.