The Cleveland Browns have made completely retooled the QB room this offseason behind Deshaun Watson by adding options via free agency, trade, and the NFL Draft.
This plethora of offseason moves leaves the Browns with a surplus of quarterbacks entering training camp, which has one ESPN Insider thinking Cleveland could trade one of the quarterbacks in the near future.
ESPN Insider Believes Browns Can ‘Get a Pick’ for a QB on the Roster Via Trade
One popular saying in the world of football is, ‘If you have two quarterbacks, you have none.” Well, in the Browns’ case, I don’t believe there is a saying for a team that has five quarterbacks — but it certainly means they have issues at the position at the current moment.
This has ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler thinking the team could recoup some NFL Draft capital by dealing a quarterback in the near future.
Fowler wrote, “Keep this in mind about the Browns’ now-crowded quarterback room: The Browns look at the roster through the prism of value and currency, which at least one source pointed out could lead to an eventual trade if injuries happen across the league. Cleveland gave up a third-rounder and two fifth-rounders for Gabriel, Sanders and veteran Kenny Pickett (via trade with Philadelphia). Perhaps the Browns can get a pick back for one of them.”
Is There a Trade Market for Any of the QBs on the Browns Roster?
In addition to Watson, the Browns also have Kenny Picket, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders on the roster.
Flacco is a veteran quarterback on a one-year deal worth up to $4.2 million, which makes him a player the team can part ways with quite easily if it doesn’t work out.
Pickett is on the final year of his rookie deal, which has him playing on a salary of $2.6 million this season. Again, it is another contract that has virtually no long-term commitment and essentially no significant financial consequences if they part ways with him in 2025.
The rookies have draft capital on their side, but it is hard to imagine either of these players carrying much value on the trading block with NFL teams recently telling the Browns that neither of these players are currently worthy of a first or second round pick.
It would be a fascinating exercise to see which of these two rookie quarterbacks would go on the open market considering the fall of Sanders down the draft board and Gabriel going much earlier than expected.
Fowler added, “So was third-round quarterback Dillon Gabriel. A few teams tipped me off before the draft that Cleveland really liked him, presumably as a Day 3 pick. That he went in the third round was a mild surprise, but Browns sources tell me the earlier selection of Jalen Milroe to Seattle did not scare Cleveland — it was taking Gabriel at No. 94 regardless. The Browns were also surprised their homework on Gabriel didn’t get more attention in the media. Gabriel visited the team on the same day as higher-profile quarterbacks Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. Gabriel is small, but he can play the position. Teams were slightly higher on Gabriel than outside draft experts were.”
Then there is Watson, who has been a big, and expensive, disappointment during his time with the Browns and enters the 2025 NFL season trying to recover from an Achilles injury — making his trade value with a bad contract virtually non-existent.
Ultimately, the Browns aren’t going to carry five quarterbacks on the roster into the 2025 NFL season. We’ll see if the Browns can manage to salvage the situation by getting a Day 3 pick in an upcoming draft with a quarterback needy team in the coming months.
