Dillon Gabriel started six games for the Cleveland Browns last season and is now an afterthought in the quarterback competition. Deshaun Watson won the starting job with Shedeur Sanders the No. 2, as Gabriel and sixth-round rookie Taylen Green battle for a potential third-string spot.
Thursday against the New England Patriots, Gabriel went 12 of 15 for 186 yards and three touchdowns. He had a near-perfect passing rating of 157.9 and connected for two scores with 2025 undrafted wide receiver Luke Floriea.
Gabriel is a limited athlete at 5-foot-11, 205 pounds, but he's a cerebral player with accuracy that made him a premium passer at the college level. Those are qualities teams covet in a backup. With ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reporting Gabriel would
likely draw interest if Cleveland made him available for trade, here's a look at three teams who could look into adding him.
Dillon Gabriel put up numbers in the first half 😮💨
— NFL (@NFL) August 28, 2026
- 12/15
- 186 pass yards
- 3 TDs
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Atlanta Falcons
Coach Kevin Stefanski is dealing with significant quarterback instability as Tua Tagovailoa has underwhelmed while Michael Penix Jr. works himself back from a torn ACL. Both Tagovailoa and Penix are lefties, as is Gabriel, so it'd make sense from a schematic and roster construction standpoint to add another southpaw in Gabriel.
Los Angeles Chargers
Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel worked wonders with Tagovailoa when they were with the Miami Dolphins. Gabriel has a similar athletic profile and is left-handed as well, so perhaps he could turn into a quality backup under McDaniel. Trey Lance is currently the QB2 but he's often battled injury when thrust into action.
New Orleans Saints
Neither Spencer Rattler nor Zach Wilson have impressed in the QB2 competition behind Tyler Shough. So, Kellen Moore could look into adding Gabriel, who would be a solid fit for their timing offense. Moore was a prolific lefty QB at Boise State back in the day and would know how to maximize Gabriel's skillset.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Dillon Gabriel landing spots: Where could Browns QB go if traded?
