The Cleveland Browns ran a pretty tight quarterback competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders all preseason. Watson was ultimately named the Week 1 starter, much to the ire of the fans.
Now the team has made another quarterback decision that is not sitting well with fans. The Browns are expected to keep all four of their quarterbacks on the initial 53-man roster, holding onto Watson, Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and rookie Taylen Green heading into the regular season.
Browns Keeping All Four Quarterbacks In Unusual Roster Decision
Teams around the NFL routinely cut to two or three quarterbacks when they trim to the 53-man roster. Going into roster cutdown day Sunday, the Browns were expected to move on from at least one of their two younger signal callers, Gabriel or Green, in order to shore up depth at positions with more immediate need, including cornerback and tight end.
Gabriel, a second-year player who got opportunities in his rookie season, is now the QB3 behind Watson and Sanders. He has seen limited game action this preseason but fared well against the New England Patriots in the final game before the regular season.
Green, a sixth-round rookie out of Arkansas in the 2026 NFL Draft, had barely played in the preseason at all, getting his first real game reps only in the preseason finale against New England on Thursday. The thinking was that one of them would hit waivers and the Browns would use that roster spot more productively elsewhere.
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However, ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi reported Sunday that the Browns are keeping all four quarterbacks on the initial 53-man roster. Gabriel was confirmed earlier in the day to have made the team. Then word came that Green would also stick around, giving Cleveland a situation that is pretty unusual for NFL teams heading into the regular season.
The Browns are keeping 4 QBs on their initial 53-man roster, per @DanielOyefusi. pic.twitter.com/1ZsJJ4Bije
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) August 30, 2026
Although Gabriel will start the season on Injured Reserve due to a back injury, the response to the four-quarterback roster news was mostly negative on social media.
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“Ridiculous. Always has been a clown show over there in Cleveland 🤡,” one user wrote.
Ridiculous. Always has been a clown show over there in Cleveland 🤡
— LBoggie920 (@Lboggie920) August 30, 2026
Some fans speculated if the team is planning to trade one out of the four QBs.
“It only makes sense if they’re prepping to trade one,” commented one fan.
“None of which will be in the league in 3 years,” opined another fan about the quarterbacks on the team’s roster.
None of which will be in the league in 3 years
— Byron Floyd Sr. (@CoachBFloyd) August 30, 2026
A common thread in fan reaction was frustration that the Browns are using a premium roster spot on a fourth quarterback while the team still has holes on the defensive side of the ball and in the receiving corps.
“It’s the Browns. All four will start this year,” quipped one user.
It’s the Browns. All four will start this year.
— Matt (@Matman_15) August 30, 2026
“3 of them under 30 and none being developed 🤣🤣,” ridiculed another user.
Browns had waived wide receiver Luke Floriea, who finished preseason with 95 yards and 3 touchdowns on 6 catches that tied him for second on the team in receptions, prompting one fan to write: “Keep 4qbs and drop Floria, typical Browns”
Keep 4qbs and Drop Floria, typical Browns
— Big T (@BIG_TG1) August 30, 2026
Cleveland fans were not exactly primed to receive positive roster news after the last two weeks of preseason. Watching Watson go 5 for 12 for 36 yards with an interception against the Buffalo Bills, then complain that the crowd’s reaction to that performance was “disrespectful,” left a large portion of the fan base ready to move on from the whole Watson era entirely.
Head Coach Todd Monken had said that the starter decision is not week-to-week, but Gabriel and Green are not part of that near-term conversation.
Gabriel, who ranked as the third-worst quarterback on PFN’s QB Impact Metric last season, is a backup’s backup at this point in case the situation at the top of the depth chart breaks down further than expected.
Green is a pure developmental project, a raw athletic talent who ran for 66 yards, including a 30-yard scramble, in limited preseason work against the Patriots. The Browns used a draft pick on him and want to see what he can become. But having both of them on the 53-man roster while the team tries to compete right now will be frowned upon if the losses start piling up.
