The Cleveland Browns' rancid quarterback competition seemingly never gave Dillon Gabriel much of a chance to become either the starter or primary backup. With rookie Taylen Green waiting in the wings, Gabriel needed a miracle to impress this coaching staff.
Such a performance managed to become reality in the preseason finale against the New England Patriots, as Gabriel threw three touchdowns and finished a few ticks below a perfect passer rating. Even if Gabriel doesn't make the final roster, he has improved his trade value to the point where he could fetch an asset in a possible trade.
Gabriel might be able to draw some trade attention from these four teams, as they have subpar quarterback rooms behind their established starter and could view Gabriel more favorably than Cleveland did.
4 trade destinations for Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs' quarterback room behind Baker Mayfield consists of a very uninspiring backup in Jake Browning and two young undrafted players in Jalon Daniels and Connor Bazelak. It seems unlikely that this quarterback room will remain untouched for most of the season.
Gabriel is not only capable of being a solid third-stringer for Tampa Bay, but he could beat out Browning for the QB2 role in the battle of the noodle arms. Gabriel would have a much better collection of pass-catchers if he were throwing to Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin in the Sunshine State.
3. New York Jets
The Jets seem set on making fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik their backup quarterback behind Geno Smith, but one injury could leave them starting that neophyte signal-caller while a non-NFL quarterback in Brady Cook is healthy on game days.
The Jets have a connection to Gabriel that could help him win some support in that quarterback room, as 2025 Browns quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave now occupies the same role under Frank Reich. Could that be enough to help Gabriel land a QB3 role?
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina going all-in on Bryce Young may be the first problem facing this offense, but backing him up with Kenny Pickett, undrafted Haynes King and Kyle Trask leaves them in an even more precarious situation as they defend their NFC South title.
Committing to Young suggests that Dave Canales is willing to work with quarterbacks who don't meet traditional size standards. That has to factor into things, as many teams simply looked at Gabriel's height and crossed him off their board.
1. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons are helmed by Kevin Stefanski, who may believe in Gabriel as much or more than any coach in the league. Atlanta appears more willing to start Michael Penix Jr. over Tua Tagovailoa to begin the season, but the bottom half of that depth chart is looking nasty.
Rather than having the No. 3 quarterback be someone who looked unplayable last season in Cooper Rush or an undrafted free agent from a Division II school in Jack Strand, the Falcons could flip a late pick for Gabriel and go all-in on their unusual left-handed quarterback room.
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