The Browns haven’t had long-term QB stability since Bernie Kosar more than two decades ago. Every season since has begun with desperate experimentation. Baker Mayfield came close, but when Jimmy Haslam brought in Deshaun Watson, Mayfield decided to walk away. Now, after Joe Flacco’s improbable 2023 playoff ride and Kenny Pickett’s unproven Pittsburgh pedigree, Cleveland’s staff is refusing to let distance and reputations determine future opportunity. Preseason will be decisive, not window dressing. And for rookie Dillon Gabriel, it’s more than just a season on the line. It’s eight days that could determine the direction of the Browns and perhaps alter the team’s fate for years to come.

Can a rookie with an outsized college resume but NFL-sized questions save a franchise still searching for its next great QB? The Browns notably have eight days of open practices, stretching from July 25 to August 4, before the preseason begins. Bryant McFadden thinks Gabriel has an edge over Shedeur Sanders, the other rookie. “I think the slight edge goes to Dillion Gabriel because he was the higher drafted player. – You get the reps, you get the opportunities… That’s just the name of the game, the unwritten rule in the National Football League.” But just a draft status won’t be enough to secure his future with the Browns. During the camp, he needs to prove he belongs in a stacked QB room full of veterans, promises, and a PR genius. Senior Browns reporter Nathan Zegura, for one, believes he will get that chance.

On The Ken Carman Show, when asked about the QB future for the Browns, Zegura set things straight. “I don’t think you have somebody on this roster right now that you can say outside of Joe Flacco, if that’s the way they go, where you can say ‘you really don’t need preseason reps, you’re going to be the starter.’” Zegura makes the case that Pickett, along with Gabriel and Sanders, will need the preseason reps to sync with the team against a proper NFL challenge. Pickett notably only started in one game last season with the Eagles, and the rookies require a feel of the gridiron grind. “Gabriel needs the reps. Shedeur needs the reps… I’d like to see each one of them start a game and play maybe the whole first half of the game and whatever the order is, that’s fine.” Zegura adds. This preseason is Gabriel’s chance.

Dillon Gabriel arrived in Cleveland with a glittering college stat sheet. More stars and touchdowns than any QB in the rookie class, armed with experience from three places over 6 years. Now he has the shot to put all that experience to work. For Gabriel, that means eight days – from rookie meeting rooms, through first snaps, to pushing past the shadows of past QB misfires – to prove he isn’t just a camp arm, but a long-term answer the franchise can build around. HC Kevin Stefanski had already noted the preseason will be make or break. “Those are going to be big weeks for our football team in terms of how we’re coming together – Those will be big weeks in terms of evaluation, how it is all shaking out, with some really tough decisions at the end of August. But we’re looking forward to those weeks.”

The backdrop isn’t all on-field. Off-the-field drama also adds to the sense that the Browns are navigating through minefields. The QB competition looms larger, knowing that roster decisions in July could reverberate into January’s playoff push or further roster resets. All of which brings up a 2025 twist. What if the Browns decide their QB answer isn’t in their camp at all? New trade rumors are swirling around Cleveland now.

Training camp trade loading for Kevin Stefanski?

While the rookies currently take the field and veterans wait for July 22nd to follow, the whispers around the league have grown louder. A potential Kirk Cousins trade has been floated by NFL Spin Zone’s Lou Scataglia. The lingering Cousins decision could be both an incentive and a threat for the Browns. If the training camp evaluations leave something to be desired, the calculus is brutal. Do you trust your highly touted rookies, or do you deal Pickett or Flacco for a known commodity who, at 36, still brings big-game experience and a high ceiling? It’s a possibility if Atlanta opens its doors.

As Scataglia puts it, a failed training camp “would force Cleveland to probably trade away Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett and then cut the other, but if the front office does see a legitimate shot at winning some games in 2025, a trade for Kirk Cousins should be on the table. There could also be reason to believe that another year removed from his torn Achilles could yield more efficient on-field results.” Despite being sidelined by Michael Penix Jr., Cousins still has that chip on his shoulder to prove he belongs in the starter QB conversation, and a move to Cleveland could make that happen for him. Cousins also has a history with Stefanski from their Vikings days when Stefanski was the OC there. So a trade would make sense for both parties if Stefanski believes Cousins can deliver some much-needed wins for the franchise.

If the Browns sacrifice future upside for immediate stability, that still leaves Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders’ chances for development up in the air. While Gabriel might have an edge right now, the stakes couldn’t be higher for training camp. His performance over the next weeks might determine not just if he remains on the roster, but whether the Browns double down on him, hand Pickett the keys, or roll the dice on a trade for Cousins. The great Browns QB experiment is underway, and the clock’s ticking faster than ever.