Former Oregon Ducks star quarterback Dillon Gabriel's NFL future is very cloudy right now.
Two years ago, the Oregon Ducks were one of the best teams in the country behind star quarterback Dillon Gabriel. In his lone season with the Ducks after playing for Central Florida and Oklahoma, Gabriel lived up to the hype.
During the 2024 season with the Ducks, Gabriel ended up completing 72.9 percent of his pass attempts for 3,857 yards, 30 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. He also racked up 149 yards and seven more touchdowns on the ground.
Gabriel was drafted with the No. 94 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He began his rookie season as the primary backup for the Browns behind Joe Flacco.
When all was said and done on his first season playing on Sunday's, Gabriel played in seven games. He threw for 937 yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions, to go along with a 59.5 completion percentage and 86 yards on the ground.
Unfortunately, by the end of the season, Gabriel had lost the starting job he took over from Flacco to fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders. Now, his NFL future is very murky.
Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport has included Gabriel's name among the NFL quarterbacks who could be traded. With Sanders and Deshaun Watson as the top two quarterbacks in Cleveland, Gabriel could very well find himself elsewhere in the near future.
Here is what Davenport had to say about Gabriel as an NFL quarterback.
"To be clear, Gabriel is what he is—he doesn't have elite arm talent," Davenport wrote. "But he's an intelligent player who didn't make a ton of mistakes last year, throwing seven touchdowns against just two picks. He profiles better as a long-term NFL backup than as a full-time starter, and he has the potential to fill that role for a long time."
At the end of the day, carving out a long-term career as a backup signal caller in the NFL isn't a bad option. Gabriel played well in limited action last season, but his overall potential is limited.
It will be interesting to see what the upcoming NFL training camp and preseason periods have in store for Gabriel. While he is currently fighting for a spot with the Browns, he will also be auditioning for other teams around the league who need quarterback help.
Whatever the future brings for Gabriel, he will continue having the backing of Oregon fans. Hopefully, he is able to latch on somewhere that he can play a consistent role and find a comfortable place to play long-term.
