Why Cleveland Browns Must Trade Dillon Gabriel Prior to 2026 NFL Draft

The Cleveland Browns ended the 2025 campaign with several question marks. One of the most glaring was finding a franchise quarterback.

The Browns brass is kicking the tires on all options, from bringing in a free agent, drafting one in the upcoming draft or keeping the status quo.

Keeping the status quo has a glaring issue. Dillon Gabriel, who saw six starts before sustaining a concussion in the first half of the Baltimore Ravens game, struggled through his time in the 2025 season, posting a quarterback rating of 31.4 and compiling 937 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He also led the Browns to one win in six games.

He averaged only 5.1 yards per attempt and struggled to make explosive plays, rarely looking beyond 10 yards downfield. He completed one pass in four attempts for throws over 20 yards and 11 of 28 for intermediate routes (11-19 yards).

Browns head coach, Todd Monken, has addressed the quarterback position several times, but when answering questions, Monken is generally talking about Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson. Gabriel, when mentioned, is more of an afterthought.

At last month’s NFL Scouting Combine, Moken addressed the media about each of his quarterbacks.

When asked about Sanders, Monken praised his playstyle.

“I think what you see is elite playmaking ability," he said. "That's in him. You've seen it. We've seen it. You saw it in college. You saw it on tape last year. Sure, there's a way to go. But what rookie isn't, I mean, what first-year player doesn't have a long way to go? So, I'm excited to get started with him and all of our quarterbacks and all of our players."

Monken was later asked about Watson, who missed out on the entire 2025 campaign due to injury. He praised him as well.

"I think anytime that you have a player that at one time has exhibited the skillset at an elite level, I think you're always going to give them the benefit of the doubt that somehow we might be able to get that out of him again," Monken said. "And I think that's how you should look at every player. […] Now you're going to have some preconceived notions, obviously, because we have prior evidence, but I don't decide who plays. The players decide who plays. I've never decided who plays."

Now, could it be that Monken was just asked about Sanders and Watson, yes, but if Gabriel was a serious candidate to start for the Browns in 2026, Monken would have made that well known.

The Browns have the chance to right a wrong; they drafted Gabriel too high in last season’s draft, and they need to look at moving him before this year’s draft. Browns general manager, Andrew Berry, needs to recoup some value and create roster space for a new development quarter or a veteran backup.

A move would also benefit Gabriel as it would provide him a fresh start in an environment with less quarterback controversy and potentially a system better suited to his skill set.