Browns place Dillon Gabriel on IR, with long-term outlook on all 4 of their QBs remaining unclear

The Cleveland Browns will hang onto all four of their quarterbacks for now, with a caveat. However you look at the situation, it's hard to tell how strongly they feel about any of them.

Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and rookie Taylen Green all will be on the initial 53-man roster, with Dillon Gabriel reportedly headed to injured reserve for a minimum of four games with a back injury. Gabriel will carry a designation to return this season, allowing Cleveland to keep him without using an initial roster spot on him and potentially adding him later in the season.

Watson beat out Sanders for Week 1 starting duties after new head coach Todd Monken pared down the starting battle early. That's about the only clarity we have right now, short or long term.

Gabriel, the Browns' third-round draft pick in 2025, was largely a forgotten man until he had a strong outing in the final preseason game against New England. But Green also showed enough in that game to where the Browns might have feared what would happen if they tried to sneak him through waivers to the practice squad.

Even with all four remaining in the picture, it's hard to view the situation as a clear vote of confidence for any of them right now.

Is it possible we see four different quarterbacks play for the Browns this season? Or is this just a temporary insurance policy while the Browns bide time prior to what could be a bonanza of a QB class in the 2027 NFL Draft?

Here's where all four appear to stand right now in Cleveland:

Watson being booed by the Cleveland fans was an ugly affair for all parties. He didn't like it and spoke out, which appeared to make matters worse. His subsequent walk-back likely didn't do much to quell Browns fans' anger at being coupled with one of the worst returns on investment in modern NFL history.

Yet the Browns are steaming ahead with Watson set to start the opener in two weeks.

The Browns open on the road the first two games, at the Jaguars Week 1 and at the Buccaneers in Week 2. If Watson doesn't play pretty darned well, it will be fascinating to see how Monken handles the home opener in Week 3 against the Panthers. Would they endure more possible booing every time the offense takes the field?

We knew Watson wouldn't be cut this offseason because of the punitive contract he's signed to, which mercifully runs out after this season. But the fact that he's starting initially is also an indictment of the rest of the QB depth chart. The chances of Watson somehow returning to the team next season seem impossibly low, almost nil, but it also begs the question of what the future holds in Cleveland for the other three.

Sanders started and outplayed Watson in the second preseason game, which led to some false hope among Browns fans that he'd pick up again as the team's starter. His seven starts last season probably delivered more bad than good, but the Browns appeared to play better last season with Sanders than with the other quarterbacks.

It's fair to wonder whether this is Sanders' final season in Cleveland. The Browns gave him a chance to win the starting job, and he couldn't do it. Sanders presumably would be the first option to replace Watson midseason, although that's less clear after Gabriel performed better in the third preseason game than either Watson or Sanders did in the first two.

Sanders has a very affordable contract, with salary-cap hits between $1.1 million and $1.3 million the next three seasons. He's 24 years old and has some moldable talent — but how much?

The Browns must ask whether the potential upside outweighs the negatives, as he continues to try to master the finer points of quarterbacking. To date, he hasn't.

The Browns likely won't make any long-term decisions on Sanders' future until after the season, of course, and it would stand to reason he could receive multiple starts. That would allow him to rewrite his script and give himself a chance to stick in Cleveland. Browns fans appear ready and willing to embrace any quarterback not named Watson to take the job and run with it, even if the possibility the team drafts a quarterback in Round 1 next spring feels fairly high.

Gabriel appeared to lock up a spot on the roster with his 12-of-15, 186-yard, 3-TD half in the preseason finale, although the Browns found a way to circumvent committing a roster spot by stashing him on IR for now.

General manager Andrew Berry invested a third-round selection on Gabriel just over a year ago, so cutting him never felt like a realistic option. It's also hard to imagine there was much trade chatter involving Gabriel, even with the final outing Thursday, considering how little he played this summer.

Perhaps that final preseason performance allowed Gabriel a chance to impact the Browns in the longer term. Some might view him as possessing a career-backup ceiling, but the Browns are looking for any type of stability at the position.

If Watson struggles early, Sanders theoretically would be next in line. But if Gabriel is added to the roster later in the season, he could be in line for playing time if both Watson and Sanders fail to keep the starting job.

It's also fair to question why Monken appeared to initially pare down the starting options to Watson and Sanders. Some have speculated that Monken always seemed to want Watson and never viewed Gabriel as starting-caliber. Has anything changed now? That's unclear.

If the Browns at the very least believe that Gabriel has a high enough floor, and he performs well enough if and/or when that chance comes, he might end up having higher odds of being the backup or bridge starter to begin the 2027 season, depending on who the Browns draft.

Green was a sixth-rounder for a reason: He was a gifted but flawed project. At nearly 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, with outstanding athleticism and arm talent, Green has all the tools you could want at the position. But his inconsistent college tape dropped him in the draft for a reason.

The Browns selected him this spring amid their cloudy QB situation, and it was fair then to think "why not?" The problem in a situation like this, of course, is time and opportunity. The Browns were running a deficit on both.

"There's just not enough reps," Monken lamented recently, and he's right.

Now Green stands as the third QB for at least the first four games.

To the Browns' credit, they gave Green some chances against the Bills in joint practices, followed by clean-up duty in the preseason game at New England. Green reportedly comported himself well in both settings, which was a pleasant development. It also might have been encouraging enough to where the Browns felt uneasy about trying to sneak him through waivers.

Prior to that, Green almost never received team-period snaps while Watson and Sanders battled. Hence the problem with the crowded QB room.

Monken has given Green some praise after his limited chances.

"That dude is smart as heck," Monken said. "… I love that dude. All he does is work, [with a] smile on his face."

The path to 2026 playing time appeared to be muddled prior to Gabriel landing on IR. Is there a chance Green's running ability could give him a path to playing time at some point? You can't rule it out, especially in any worst-case scenario that might unfold.

If the Browns stick with the plan and determine they can afford to roster him all season, it's possible that Green could stick as the second or third QB next season.