On Tuesday, October 6th, Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel was designated for a return from the Injury Reserve. They opened his 21-day practice window to evaluate how his back injury is, and whether he can potentially get back into game shape. But even if he is, does that complicate the Browns’ quarterback room dynamic once again?
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Reporters asked Coach Monken in his Wednesday presser what his plans with Gabriel’s practice are, and whether he feels any urgency to add him to the active roster. Monken’s answer left no doubt that Gabriel still has a long way to go before those conversations can even happen.
“Not really,” Monken said. “I mean, we opened up the three-week window to kind of see where we’re at. So, that’s kind of where we’re at. Get him out there, practice, see where he’s at with his back, and get the reps that we can get. A lot of that will be in the look squad, or it’ll be individual. But I look forward to seeing him back out there.”
Dillon Gabriel landed on the IR after he suffered a lower lumbar sprain during the preseason finale against the New England Patriots. The IR designation caused him to miss the first four games of the 2026 regular season. But now that he’s back, he will be working with the scout team and doing individual drills for the next three weeks before Coach Monken can come to any kind of decision. So when asked whether he intends to put Gabriel back on the active roster, Monken shut that down with a crisp response.
“I don’t have to feel anyway at this point,” Monken said. “We still have three weeks.”
Deshaun Watson is the designated starter right now, leading the team on a 3-game win streak into Week 5. Behind him, Shedeur Sanders is the backup, and in Dillon Gabriel’s absence, sixth-round rookie Taylen Green remains the emergency quarterback.
Both Green and Gabriel had impressed Coach Monken with their preseason finale performance. But coming off an injury, what’s troublesome for Gabriel is that even before the regular season kicked off, Coach Monken was on the fence about keeping four quarterbacks on his active roster.
“That’s why we played them,” Monken had said. “We’ve got a lot to talk about. I thought they both did some really good things. The way they played is how I thought they’d play. Dillon within himself, very poised, and then Taylen was going to have some splash plays, some plays where you get him on the perimeter, use his athleticism, and keep working to refine his passing. It was fun to watch him play. But just like every position, we’re going to have to cut it down. We can’t keep everybody.”
Given Todd Monken’s latest response, it doesn’t look like his stance has wavered. If Dillon Gabriel can perform well enough to be activated three weeks down the line, before the Browns face the Pittsburgh Steelers again in Week 8, then he still has a slim chance to see some action behind Watson and Shedeur.
If not, it’s either a trade or a season lost on the IR that’s waiting for him.