It wasn’t the script the Dawg Pound had in mind. For months, headlines swirled around the Browns’ QB room about who’d start under center when September comes around. For some, it was the veteran arm of Joe Flacco. But for most, it was Kenny Pickett who had the most votes to lead the 2025 campaign for the Browns. But the latest move, trading Pickett to the Raiders for a 2026 fifth-round pick, flipped all the narratives. This move wasn’t simply another transaction. It was a shift rooted less in the past and more in a vision for the future. As it turns out, Pickett isn’t the name central to that vision; it’s rookie Dillon Gabriel.

The Pickett trade, quiet on the surface, revealed how much faith the Browns are willing to gamble on a player who wasn’t supposed to be at the center of this roster puzzle. When Cleveland dealt Pickett, the rationale, at least officially, centered on “value.” Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot explained as much in her appearance on 92.3 The Fan: Baskin and Phelps. As Cabot put it, “They were planning to keep four, but when someone offered them this fifth-round pick, they felt that was good value. – basically gives them a chance to turn to the rookies when the time comes. If it gets to that point, then they can just go ahead and they’re going to continue to develop those guys and they’ll take a look at them when it makes sense.”

The message from the front office was clear. Dillon Gabriel has shown them something. Enough, in fact, to give up a former starter rather than carry a crowded quarterback room into the season. “I do understand that Dillon showed them some things, especially in that last game,” Cabot confirmed. That “last game” was the preseason finale against the Rams, where Gabriel took the stage in the second quarter. Gabriel demonstrated speed, pocket presence, and a knack for third-down conversions. He fueled a critical drive that led Dustin Hopkins to kick a field goal. On the next drive, Gabriel sped up the play and eventually landed a touchdown with Gage Larvadain to bring the score to 16-7. He had done enough to get the spotlight and seal the fate for Pickett.

Even in the matchup with the Eagles, Gabriel showed impressive poise despite some speed bumps. Although he threw a pick-6 to Andrew Mukuba, many saw it as the fault of TE Blake Wineheart. As former NFL QB Robert Griffin III put it on X, “This pick-6 goes on Dillon Gabriel’s stats, but it’s really on the TE. WHEN THE BALL IS IN THE AIR, IT’S YOUR BALL. Never wait for someone else to make a catch you can.” Altogether, Gabriel’s preseason performance was evidence that the Browns believe Gabriel might have the juice to be more than a long-term developmental project. And while Gabriel has upped his QB stock in the QB room, the room itself remains very much in flux.

Beyond Dillon Gabriel: the bigger quarterback plan

The Browns have made a habit of reshuffling QBs the way a card player shuffles a deck. Fast, frequent, and rarely with the same hand twice. In fact, nine different quarterbacks have started a game for the Browns in just the last two seasons. It’s a dizzying turnover, even by Cleveland’s standards of QB roulette. Their quest to find ‘the guy’ still remains a work in progress. But Mary Kay Cabot believes there’s a clear path forward for the 2025 season.

Right now, Joe Flacco is penciled in as the starter. He’s steady, if unspectacular, and gives Cleveland a professional baseline. Meanwhile, the front office knows that Deshaun Watson, still working his way back from injury, represents an unpredictable variable. As Cabot puts it, “I don’t know if he will actually end up being activated, but I think he will be ready to start practicing sometime in late October or November. So, they do have that sort of in their back pocket.” 

This uncertainty leaves space for Gabriel to grow, and ultimately, play. The Browns don’t expect him to be a star this season. But if he shows flashes, it could influence how they deploy their draft capital in 2026, when they’re armed with two first-round picks in a QB-rich class. In other words, Gabriel doesn’t just get snaps. He’s auditioning for how Cleveland builds its future. But there’s another twist in the Browns’ long-term quarterback roadmap. Cabot believes the team isn’t stopping with in-house options. “I just don’t think there’s any reason why they wouldn’t draft a quarterback next year. Even if Dillon has a really good half a season or whatever. I kind of think you still need to spend those quality choice first round picks on a quarterback in a very rich class.”

For a franchise that has cycled 9 QBs in the last two seasons, the path forward finally seems clear. Kenny Pickett is gone. Ride Flacco while he holds, transition to Gabriel, and at some point, give Shedeur Sanders reps. Then, reevaluate everything before April 2026. It’s not so much a strict plan as an open audition for the rookies. How it turns out, we’ll soon be on the journey to find out.