Browns Reject Trade Offers for Rookie QB as Quarterback Battle Heats Up

The Cleveland Browns sparked a quarterback controversy of their own making and chose to embrace it rather than looking for a way out.

After drafting Dillon Gabriel in the third round and then trading up to select Shedeur Sanders in the fifth, the Browns drew trade interest for Gabriel from multiple teams, according to Michael Silver of The Athletic.

“After trading up to take Sanders in the fifth round, the Browns rejected multiple trade offers for Gabriel, preferring to move forward with both rookies,” Silver said.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry said the team didn’t plan to draft two quarterbacks. But when Sanders’ unexpected slide reached the fifth round, they saw an opportunity worth taking.

“We felt like it wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks,” Berry said. “But as we talk about, we do believe in best player available, we do believe in positional value, and we didn’t necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round. We love adding competition to every position room and adding him to compete with the guys that are already in there. We felt like that was the appropriate thing to do.”

Browns QB Dillon Gabriel Drawing Negative Reviews

Gabriel is slotted above Sanders on the initial depth chart. He’s also received some reps with the starters, while Sanders has not seen any time with the first-team offense. However, the reviews on Gabriel’s play have been mixed, skewing negative.

“He’s not good. He’s not an NFL quarterback. Not right now,” Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan said recently. “They’re cramming this guy down our throats, and it’s not good. It’s not a height thing; it’s not personal. I mean, he’s rolling out, and he can’t hit guys that are wide open. He is not all that great at times during the warm-up periods. He’s pretty good during 7-on-7 when there’s no offensive and defensive lines, but he’s just not a good quarterback.”