With the 2026 Draft complete and Organised Team Activities about to begin, preparations for the 2026 NFL season are well underway. Alongside the coaching changes, of which there were ten this year, the key decision at many franchises centres on who will start at quarterback. For many of the 32 sides, that decision was automatic. Not so at the Cleveland Browns. In a situation reminiscent of this time last year, the Browns find themselves with four signal-callers in the building and a potential quarterback battle on their hands.
Rewind to 2025
Ahead of the 2025 season, veteran Joe Flacco was the assumed starter, with 2022 first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett serving as the main backup ahead of Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. However, Pickett was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders before the season began, while Flacco left for Cincinnati after leading the league in turnovers through the first four games. Dillon Gabriel then took over, but following a concussion sustained during the Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, he lost the starting role to Shedeur Sanders.
Four-Man Battle in 2026
Fast forward to 2026, and the Cleveland Browns quarterback situation is again shrouded in uncertainty, with four men eager to take the first snap in Week 1.
Shedeur Sanders
Having ended the 2025 campaign at the top of the depth chart, 24-year-old Shedeur Sanders is the assumed starter in Cleveland.
The former Colorado player hails from rich NFL stock, being the son of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders. Taken by Cleveland in the fifth round of the 2025 draft, many expected Sanders to go earlier than the 144th overall pick.
With Dillon Gabriel winning the starting role following Joe Flacco’s slow start and ultimate departure, Sanders was forced to wait for his opportunity. That chance came following the concussion to Gabriel in Week 11, and Sanders did enough to hold onto the starting spot for the remainder of the season.
That said, he didn’t impress everyone, with his stats reading 1,400 passing yards, 7 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, plus 169 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Taken together, those numbers produced the worst passer rating of any quarterback with 200 or more snaps in 2025. Nevertheless, following a spate of withdrawals, Sanders controversially earned a Pro Bowl selection.
Deshaun Watson
In terms of raw talent, Deshaun Watson may still be the best quarterback in Cleveland. Taken by Houston in the first round of the 2017 draft, he led the Texans to division titles in 2018 and 2019 and led the league in passing yards in 2020. Those efforts were good enough to earn three Pro Bowl selections.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, those highs are starting to feel like a long time ago. The Browns spent big to secure his services in 2022, giving up six draft picks, including three first-round picks, to the Texans, as Watson signed on to a five-year, fully guaranteed, $230 million deal.
The high hopes Cleveland had for Watson have failed to materialise. Suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season, he then saw his 2023 campaign curtailed by a shoulder injury, missed much of 2024 with a torn Achilles, and all of 2025 due to a re-rupture of that injury.
Reportedly fit and well and ready to fight for his place, Watson could still be a potent weapon if able to rediscover anything like his best. But that is a big if.
Dillon Gabriel
A college standout with the Oregon Ducks, Hawaii native Gabriel became one of the few left-handed quarterbacks in the league when selected by the Browns in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
In pre-season, Gabriel impressed sufficiently to work his way up the pecking order and was the man called upon to replace Joe Flacco ahead of the Week 5 clash with the Minnesota Vikings. In appearing in that London International Series game, he became the first quarterback to make his first career start outside of the US.
While criticised in some quarters for failing to provide an offensive spark, Gabriel posted respectable numbers of 937 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions in an offence which struggled across the board. Having lost the starting role only through injury, it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise to see him in pole position when the season begins.
Taylen Green
Last, but not least, the newest quarterback in Cleveland, 2026 sixth-round draft pick Taylen Green. Physically, the former Arkansas Razorback has all the attributes of a modern NFL quarterback. 6ft 6in, around 230lbs, with a 43.5-inch vertical jump and a 4.36s time for the 40-yard dash, he posted the most impressive all-around quarterback combine figures in around 20 years.
His sixth-round status stems from noted issues with his footwork, passing accuracy and decision-making under pressure. Those issues are partly reflected in his college numbers. In five seasons with Boise State and Arkansas, Green posted 9,662 passing yards, 59 touchdowns and 35 interceptions. On the plus side, he was devastating on the ground, registering a further 2,405 yards and 35 rushing touchdowns. Green is a rough diamond, but if Cleveland can smooth out the kinks, they may have an explosive dual-threat quarterback on their hands.