While the NFL world continued to buzz over Taylen Green’s debut in the Cleveland Browns’ preseason finale, the sixth-round rookie quarterback prayed and waited on a call or text from his coaches that never came.
Green said he genuinely had no idea where he stood as the Browns weighed keeping three or four quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster. As Sunday’s deadline passed, he learned about his fate the same way fans did — via a graphic posted by the Browns’ social media team.
In the NFL, no news can be the best news.
“It’s definitely a blessing. It’s a dream come true. I just woke up, went to church, then was enjoying my day off. I didn’t get a call or a text to come in, so I was just excited and saw the post. I had a lot of family and friends text me and stuff, and it was exciting for me.
“Look, this is my first time, so I don’t know,” he added. “I hope that’s good news.”
Taylen Green’s sparkling debut earned him an extended look — for now
Green’s situation remains fluid. On one hand, he showed the coaches enough promise to earn a roster spot. On the other hand, his spot may not have been there had Dillon Gabriel's curious back injury not cropped up at the most opportune time.
For context, Gabriel was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return when the Browns rolled out their initial 53-man roster on Sunday. That means Gabriel will be out for a minimum of four regular-season games, and won’t be able to practice with the team over that period, per league rules.
Green will thus operate as Cleveland’s No. 3 quarterback behind Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders over at least the first month of the season. He’ll likely be designated as the team’s emergency QB3 on game days while getting some valuable scout-team reps during each week of prep.
These next five weeks or so could be crucial to Green’s future in Cleveland, as the team will have to make a decision on when to activate Gabriel in October. Assuming both Watson and Sanders are healthy and still occupying active roster spots, that decision could boil down to Green’s development — especially as a passer.
The Browns' exciting rookie QB will have limited opportunities to prove he belongs
It’s been nearly impossible to fairly evaluate Green this offseason due to a lack of opportunities.
He took every rep during rookie minicamp back in May, but rarely saw meaningful work in practice from that point forward as head coach Todd Monken sorted out a competition between Watson and Sanders.
The gap between third-stringer Gabriel and Green was sizable as the Browns entered their preseason finale against the Patriots on Aug. 27.
Considering the circumstances, Green put on a show. If anything, he proved the lights weren’t too bright and that he was capable of getting in and out of the huddle and running a much more pro-style offense than he had at Arkansas.
But Green’s most memorable plays came in the running game — on scrambles. That’s Green’s superpower, but speed and athleticism alone won’t be enough to justify an NFL roster spot. He still needs to prove that he can stand tall in the pocket, read the defense, work through his progressions, and deliver the ball into tight windows.
Few stats in sports are more useless than preseason scramble yards, when defenses aren’t game-planning and the personnel is largely made up of roster longshots. Aside from showing off his special playmaking ability, Green didn’t cement his spot on the team against the Patriots. He played the entire second half and passed for 27 yards on seven attempts.
That uncertainty only made cutdown day more special, though, as Green realized his future in Cleveland in the most NFL way ever.
Add us as a preferred source on Google