Browns predicted to trade QB again as part of crowded depth chart

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Browns predicted to trade QB again as part of crowded depth chart originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Cleveland Browns dealt with a crowded QB depth chart a year ago.

Kenny Pickett got traded, then so did Joe Flacco, as the likes of Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel stuck around.

With Deshaun Watson healthy this season, and Taylen Green drafted, things are crowded again.

Sanders and Watson are expected to compete for the starting job, so what happens behind them?

There's a case to be made for keeping Gabriel, but ESPN's latest roster projection instead has the Browns keeping Green as QB3.

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If Cleveland keeps Green, Gabriel is likely to get traded.

"For a second consecutive year, the Browns not only have to sort out a competition in training camp but must decide what to do with their four passers," ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi writes. "Watson and Sanders took the bulk of the reps during the spring, while 2025 third-round pick Dillon Gabriel typically received the remaining reps. Green, the Browns' sixth-round pick this year, is viewed as a developmental prospect, but the Browns are bullish on his upside. Like last season, a trade to bring the quarterback room to three entering the regular season seems to be a likely outcome."

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Gabriel likely would only get a late-round pick in return, but after a storied college career and starting experience as an NFL rookie, he'd be worth adding to the depth chart for some other teams.

Cleveland used a third-round pick on Gabriel in 2025, but then they turned right around and drafted Sanders in the fifth round, so it's not a simple equation to figure out what to do next.

It's fair to expect a Gabriel trade, at least as long as Watson and Sanders stay healthy during the preseason.

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