The Cleveland Browns are about to have a quarterback dilemma on their hands. Cleveland will need to activate Dillon Gabriel from the injured reserve soon, and when that happens, Cleveland will have four quarterbacks on its roster.

The Browns avoided a quarterback decision at the start of the regular season by placing Gabriel on injured reserve with a back injury. That move allowed Cleveland to keep Deshaun Watson, Taylen Green, and Shedeur Sanders on the roster. Carrying four quarterbacks doesn’t make sense for the team, so the Browns will need to make some kind of move once Gabriel returns.

The Browns quarterback room is headed for a roster move

Watson and Green look like the two quarterbacks who are safe on the roster for the 2026 season. That leaves Sanders and Gabriel as the two options if Cleveland moves on from someone. If the Browns go that route, trying to trade one of them makes far more sense than losing a player for nothing.

I believe Sanders is the better quarterback of the two, but Gabriel might end up being easier to trade. He’s the more ready-to-play-now option. Gabriel isn’t a field stretcher and won’t create many explosive plays, but a team looking for a steady backup could see value in what he brings.

Remember, Cleveland took Gabriel in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The pick felt like a reach at the time. The belief was the Browns made the selection because former head coach Kevin Stefanski wanted him.

A trade that sends Dillon Gabriel to the Atlanta Falcons

Using the new A to Z Sports NFL Trade Simulator, I found a new home for Gabriel that fixes Cleveland’s upcoming quarterback problem. In the deal, the Browns send Gabriel and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 NFL draft.

This is a fair trade for both sides. Cleveland held a slight edge of 13 points on the trade simulator chart, and the move would give Stefanski a quarterback he’s familiar with to serve as a long-term backup.

Michael Penix Jr. was banged up on Monday Night Football this week, and durability has been an issue for him. Still, there’s some belief Penix can be the long-term answer for the Falcons if he can stay healthy. Pairing him with a long-term backup is the best-case scenario for Atlanta, and Gabriel could be that player.

The Falcons also have Tua Tagovailoa, Cooper Rush, and Jack Strand on the roster. Rush is what he is at this point in his career as a veteran backup, and Gabriel is simply the more valuable quarterback to the NFL right now. Strand had to play one game for Atlanta this season and didn’t look all that great. Gabriel would likely fare better in Stefanski’s offense.

Why the deal works for Cleveland and Atlanta

In six career starts, Gabriel has 937 passing yards with seven touchdown passes and two interceptions. He’s not going to stretch the field much, but he isn’t going to turn the ball over either, despite being a 5-foot-11 quarterback.

For the Browns, the deal brings back a fourth-round pick in the 2028 NFL draft. It’s unfortunate the pick doesn’t come in 2027. However, the way the values worked out, getting a fourth back while giving up just a seventh makes sense, even if the return comes a year later.

The deal works for everyone involved. Gabriel goes somewhere he can stick on a 53-man roster, and Cleveland gets something back instead of cutting him. With four quarterbacks about to share one room, you can’t rule anything out. The coming weeks will show how the Browns handle it once Gabriel is activated.