The Cleveland Browns don’t know who their starting quarterback is going to be in Week 1, or even necessarily which three signal-callers will top the depth chart, but they do know there won’t be a multi-pronged QB competition stretching deep into the summer.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported as much over the weekend, which translates into troubling news for Dillon Gabriel as he enters his second NFL campaign in 2026.
“The Browns can’t afford to head into training camp with a four-way competition for the second straight season. They must try to identify their QB1 and QB2 in the offseason program and minicamp, and let those two battle it out at the most,” Cabot wrote. “If camp started today, Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders would be competing for the starting job, but Todd Monken and Andrew Berry have both said they’ll also look outside for a QB.”
QBs Malik Willis, Ty Simpson Candidates to Join Browns This Offseason
GettyGreen Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis.
Cabot added a second report on Monday, February 23, naming Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis and Alabama prospect Ty Simpson as two players on the Browns’ “radar” as the Combine begins in Indianapolis this week.
“Willis is arguably the top quarterback on the market, and the Browns will do their diligence and inquire about him,” Cabot wrote. “As for Simpson, the Browns will consider him at No. 6, or even at No. 24 or No. 39 if he lasts that long.”
Cabot even entertained the possibility of the Browns drafting Drew Allar out of Penn State in the late rounds if nothing else better materializes before then during the fan mailbag she authored on Sunday.
“As for drafting Allar, I’m all for taking developmental quarterbacks and seeing where it might lead,” Cabot wrote. “If the Browns find one they like, perhaps they’d want to see what they could get for 2025 third-rounder Dillon Gabriel.”
Dillon Gabriel Has Little Trade Value, Especially if Browns Add QB Alongside Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Gabriel’s status as a serviceable backup might afford him mid-Day 3 value (sixth round, or thereabouts) in trade conversations. That said, if the Browns sign Willis and/or drafter either Simpson or Allar, it is more likely that the team ends up cutting Gabriel.
Under those circumstances, with Watson uncuttable because of his $80.7 million salary cap hit in 2026 (the final year of his deal) and Sanders still a fan-favorite who earned another shot in his sophomore campaign, it is hard to imagine any team buying that Cleveland plans to carry Gabriel through cut-down day in late August.
Thus, the only way for the Browns to get anything for Gabriel is if there are multiple organizations interested in him as a backup and willing to fork over an actual draft asset for the three years remaining on his rookie deal.
Absent that, any team that might take a flier on the former third-round can simply wait for Cleveland to inevitably cut him and then put in a claim on the waiver wire.
