Let’s face it: the Browns QB room legit resembles an Airbnb hostel room. Four guys, one room, and a whole lot of egos. That is not a recipe for harmony, but for tension headaches every week. Given how slowly Deshaun Watson’s recovery is progressing, the Browns quietly gathered Shedeur Sanders, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Kenny Pickett as a mini-QB army. That’s two beginners with baggage handlers and two veterans with baggage. And now with the whole QB1 race, you would think that the rookies must be spending the post-minicamp period focusing on the playbook, and possibly getting a massage. But Gabriel? He became a philosopher in a steam room.
He shared a calm picture of himself cooking in a steam room on Instagram, writing, “Preparing for the next chapter of life. Thanks to @FamilyLeisure for ensuring my mind and body remain sharp all year long. #GoTime.” Now, obviously, this isn’t some pre-goodbye or a cryptic note to signify him getting cut or traded. It was just a glorified spa shout-out with an inspirational quote added for good impact. In actuality, Dillon Gabriel isn’t much of a talker. But he does believe in showing up.
Recently, he showed up at the Youth Camp in Berea, calling shots like a junior OC. The rookie appeared more like an experienced veteran than a wide-eyed draft pick, mic’d up and bossing fourth graders like they were in a movie review. “Drop back. Find him on the first play,” he told a young quarterback. Then, encouraging the others: “Everyone! Do what you do. Go live. Just ball out, bro…Ballers ball. Let’s go!” If this is a guy who’s going to be let go, he’s auditioning well for the next one.
And despite having a poor first day of minicamp (7-of-18 with a single touchdown), Dillon Gabriel still gained points with Stefanski thanks to his play-action trick. The coach said, “There’s a lot of skill to that.” But the bigger headline? Gabriel went 48-of-83 with 8 touchdowns and zero picks in five open practices, subtly dominating the remainder of minicamp. “Just continuous improvement,” Gabriel said. “There’s a bunch of progression and regression, but your ability to manage that as fast as possible allows you to create improvement at a faster pace.” Now here’s where things get murkier: Browns are considering entering the 2025 season with 4 QBs on the roster. But not everyone’s buying there; all’s well in Cleveland’s jargon.
QB room getting crowded, and someone’s about to be shown the door
Hanford Dixon, a former CB for the Browns, doesn’t believe it. Dixon pointed out the obvious on his podcast: “I think at some point, I think one of these quarterbacks, we’re going to have to maybe trade one of them to someone else to see if we can get some draft picks or something.” And more people are starting to agree with that. Shedeur Sanders is probably safe because of his 77.4% completion rate and nine touchdowns at minicamp. Dillon Gabriel? According to Mary Kay Cabot, the Browns view both rookies as “roster locks.” So, the obvious odd men out are Pickett and Flacco.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio fueled the fire. He said that the Browns’ ‘we’ll keep all four’ is just trade leverage in disguise. A small QB smokescreen to get calls from front offices that are eager for a quarterback. Still, Stefanski might be entertaining the chaos. According to Mary Kay Cabot, if they make cuts elsewhere, the Browns believe they can “find a way” to keep all four. Translation? To carry an extra arm, someone would have to give up their position on the O-line or D-line.
And general manager Andrew Berry literally dropped a triple ‘absolutely’ when asked if keeping four quarterbacks is realistic. “Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely… if they all play well enough.” So the true cutdown begins when actual games start, even if all four make it past camp. Every pass made by Gabriel, Sanders, Pickett, and Flacco will be viewed as a trade chip—or a pink slip—when the Browns play the Panthers in their first preseason game on August 8.
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