BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Taylen Green was waiting for a phone call from the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon on if he made the initial 53-man roster.
The fact that the rookie quarterback didn't receive a phone call ended up being the best news he could hope for.
Green will be the Browns third quarterback for at least the first four weeks of the season after Dillon Gabriel was placed on injured reserve because of a back issue.
Coach Todd Monken said Monday
that Gabriel felt as if he suffered the injury during a third down run on a zone read during the first half of last Thursday's preseason finale against the New England Patriots.
Gabriel, who started six games as a rookie last season, did not practice on Saturday.
“He kind of got twisted awkwardly. I think he’s going to be fine, just a little uncomfortable throwing now,” Monken said.
Gabriel went on injured reserve with a designation to return, but the earliest that could happen is going into the Oct. 10 game against the New York Jets.
Green had a 4.36 second, 40-yard dash at the combine, the fastest run by a QB since at least 2003. The athletic potential is why the Browns took him in the sixth round in April's draft.
“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,” Green said.
Releasing Green would have had Cleveland's front office waiting to see if he could go through waivers and then be signed to the practice squad.
However, Gabriel's injury allowed them to delay the decision for a little bit.
Green passed for 27 yards but rushed for a game-high 66 yards during the second half, including a 30-yard scramble during the third quarter where he missed being tackled in the end zone for a safety.
“Every single day is an opportunity. Yeah, he’s on IR, but he’s pushing me, too, and I’m pushing him," Green said about Dillon being on IR.
Green and Shedeur Sanders will split time with the scout team when preparations for the Sept. 13 opener against Jacksonville ramp up later this week. Deshaun Watson will make his first start in nearly two years after missing last season because of two Achilles tendon injuries.
Monken credited Green's preparation as a pivotal reason why he ended up making the roster.
“That doesn’t happen if he isn’t diligent, if he isn’t unbelievable in terms of getting mental reps, because he didn’t get a ton of the physical reps," Monken said. "There’s still a small sample size to go by, but what you look at is what he did with the limited amount of reps he got. We certainly want to see more. It’s hard to get that, it just is. But we were impressed with his ability to handle information, operate on the field, and make the plays that he made.”
Green said his focus over the next four weeks is to continue to take advantage of the snaps that he has along with helping Watson prepare for Week 1.
“I'll just continue to ask questions and I’m in a great quarterback room and have a lot of knowledge, so continue to ask questions there and keep asking my coaches questions. I know they have what they call a ‘hungry dawgs period’ to get extra reps in those periods," he said.
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