The Cleveland Browns, perhaps more than any team over the past decade, have struggled to figure out the quarterback position. They’ve had numerous head coaches and coordinators try to come in and change the tide, but none of their combinations have led to the level of change that the front office has hoped for.
Todd Monken is hoping to revamp their QB room into something great, similar to what he was able to achieve with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. He’s made it clear, at least publicly, that he’s not ready to name a starter, which means that the three QBs currently on the roster will have their chance to fight for the QB1 role.
Shedeur Sanders was the team’s starter in the second half of the 2025 campaign, taking over for injured fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, whom the team seemed uninspired by. Monken could feel differently, but at the moment, it appears that Gabriel is at the bottom of the depth chart, which analyst Zac Jackson noted in a recent article on The Athletic.
“The quarterback situation appears to be Shedeur Sanders in the lead for now, Deshaun Watson next, and then Dillon Gabriel. There was no immediate addition to the group, and it seems headed toward what new coach Todd Monken intimated would be an open competition once the team begins its offseason program,” Jackson wrote. “Taking Gabriel in the third round last year remains an unjustifiable decision, as he doesn’t seem to be in the team’s plans.”
As Jackson pointed out, picking Gabriel seemed to be an odd choice at the time of the draft, and it was even more strange when the team selected Sanders two rounds later. Regardless of why they made those decisions in that order, the Browns are now stuck with these three QBs on their roster.
Deshaun Watson is the mystery that Browns fans are itching to solve, as he was injured all of 2025 and has only started 19 games for the team since they traded for him. There are rumors that he’s getting back to full health, and if that’s the case, he could be in the mix for the starting job, seemingly as the Robin to Sanders’ Batman.
All of this is certainly exciting for those two athletes, but it could leave Gabriel in the dust before getting much of an opportunity to showcase his skills. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle this over the next few months, especially after the 2026 NFL Draft and heading into training camp and the preseason.
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Analyst Raises Big Question About Browns’ Offense