As expected, the Cleveland Browns rolled into the season with four quarterbacks on the roster. That included placing Dillon Gabriel on injured reserve with a mysterious back injury, a move that helped the team keep Taylen Green off waivers.
The rookie out of Arkansas will now split scout-team reps with Shedeur Sanders after not getting many opportunities in training camp or the preseason. When he did play, however, his otherworldly athleticism was impossible to ignore.
Green earned praise left and right with a now-viral scramble in the preseason win over the New England Patriots. Facing an almost certain safety, he turned a would-be negative play into a 30-yard highlight.
As impressive as the play was, he knows scrambling alone won't help him get on the field.
“There’s definitely times it’s bitten me in the butt. I’ve got to limit those things, and those are things I’m continuing to learn,” Green said. “I’m grateful that I trusted my instincts on that play and made a play out of nothing, but sometimes the best play is to throw it away. The best play is to take care of the football. So just continuing to learn and grow in those aspects, and I felt like I did a better job of it last Thursday rather than in college. I’d have a negative-20-yard play and then make it up with a 40-yard play. Those are things I’m continuing to develop and grow with.”
Taylen Green knows when his athleticism can do more harm than good
That's what you want to hear from a quarterback. That's the type of accountability and maturity that can make a sixth-round pick go from an afterthought to a player who can actually draw some consideration.
Yes, the scramble was electric, even against third-stringers and roster hopefuls. It showed why everyone was so intrigued by Green's size, speed, and potential roster flexibility as a weapon at other offensive positions.
Still, it takes much more than that to play quarterback in the pros. Green barely threw the ball in that game, and he has to prove that he can be a quarterback before the Browns can even consider getting him on the field in other capacities.
They apparently saw enough improvement and upside to keep him around, knowing that another team wouldn't hesitate to claim him if they cut him loose. With Deshaun Watson's history of poor play and injuries, and with Gabriel on IR, there's a chance Green could move up the depth chart at some point.
The Browns have started at least three different quarterbacks multiple times in recent years. Green might be the rawest and biggest question mark, but there's also a strong case to be made that he's the best schematic fit for a Todd Monken-led offense.
Everyone knows Green can make plays with his legs. The arm strength was also on full display in college, so the team didn't need to see any of that before Week 1. Instead, they needed to see him make better decisions, better reads, and be great at the little things.
Green remains a work in progress, and it will be a while before he can contribute. But he knows that he can't scramble his way to a starting job and that his athleticism won't always bail him out from a bad decision.
If he can work on that, he might become this team's best option at quarterback.
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