A trade for yet another quarterback isn't the worst idea for the Cleveland Browns
A trade for yet another quarterback isn’t the worst idea for the Cleveland Browns originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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There should be little hope for the four current quarterbacks on the Cleveland Browns roster right now. The team is currently carrying three healthy and one injured player at the position: starter Deshaun Watson, backup Shedeur Sanders, third-string rookie Taylen Green, and Dillon Gabriel, who’s currently on the injured reserve.
As of right now, there is no clear choice as to who should be the starter. If there’s no clear choice as to who should be the starter, then it’d be fair to argue that the Browns don’t have a genuine starter on the roster. Say what you want about the potential of Sanders, but we’ve seen time and time again in the NFL that if a cheaper, younger player is out and out better than the veteran, the team will play that young player.
Sanders did not do enough to earn a starting job. Just because he makes the most sense to start due to his age and potential upside (in terms of raw output), Sanders was not better than Watson. At the very least, not good enough to take the job from Watson. Watson’s a bad quarterback at this point in his career, so that should be a problem.
This quarterback room may be one of the worst the franchise has ever had in its history, if not the league’s.
More: Browns fans have good reason to be NFL’s least optimistic fanbase per The Athletic
At this point, things can only improve for the position, so why not throw another name in the mix?
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report has suggested a trade proposal for the Browns, which would see Cleveland send Gabriel to the Atlanta Falcons and his former head coach, Kevin Stefanski, in exchange for Tua Tagovailoa and a 2027 seventh-round draft pick.
It’s a trade idea that makes sense for both clubs; the Browns have no real, reliable starter, and while Tagovailoa may not be the guy long- or short-term, it’s likely no one else on the roster is either. At worst, this would give the Browns one more able body to throw to the wolves as the team tries to gut their way to a winning record in 2026.
For the Falcons, they’d get a guy Stefanski believes in a bit. Which would serve as a marketed improvement for the former Browns head coach. Stefanski’s currently having issues with his own quarterback room in Atlanta. Mirroring the Browns’ current situation, neither Tagovailoa nor Michael Penix Jr. has distanced themselves from one another enough to make the choice obvious.
Gabriel could instantly find himself in the starting position in Atlanta if Penix struggles, while Tagovailoa could get a chance to rejuvenate a once-promising career with Todd Monken at the helm.
This trade may not make sense for 30 other NFL teams, but no other NFL team is this potentially talented on both sides of the ball and is only lacking a reliable quarterback to get over the hump. It’s possible that the trade doesn’t put the Browns past that obstacle; after all, Tagovailoa hasn’t looked good recently, but the trade at least gives them one more possible option to try and win a game.
It’s impossible to say for sure what will happen, as Watson or Sanders could end up having a really good season. Still, it doesn’t hurt to hedge your bets and bring in one more experienced quarterback with a known track record.
More NFL news:
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- Texans prepared to offer C.J. Stroud a $50M plus contract extension
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