Browns Drop Clues on What Cut Decisions are Coming at Quarterback

The Cleveland Browns kept starting quarterback Deshaun Watson and his backup, Shedeur Sanders, out of their preseason finale contest against the New England Patriots on Thursday night.

The Browns wanted to see what second-year quarterback Dillon Gabriel and rookie Taylen Green could do against the Patriots. Gabriel threw three touchdown passes. Green rushed for 66 yards, including putting together a 30-yard scramble.

When speaking to reporters on Saturday, Browns head coach Todd Monken said the coaching staff was "somewhat" talking through what to do with Gabriel and Green. His comments seemed to suggest Cleveland would keep Gabriel over Green on the 53-man roster because of experience.

“Like a lot of players, we don’t want to lose any good players that have a future with the Browns, so we’ve still got some discussions to have," Monken said, via Pro Football Talk. "But I was very impressed with both Dillon and Taylen. Both did it differently, but Dillon’s at least played. 

"He’s played last year, he’s gotten more reps than Taylen, so he looked like it, and he obviously operated very well. Taylen did the things we thought he would do, which was make some plays with his feet, and there were no issues in terms of the operation.”

There is a possibility that the Browns could decide to only keep two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, but that doesn't seem as likely. If Gabriel is retained this weekend, it's likely he'd get a chance to play at some point in the season unless Watson or Sanders are able to exceed expectations in the regular season.

Of course, NFL insider Benjamin Allbright reported that the Browns have received trade calls on Gabriel. So that's a situation worth monitoring before the roster is finalized on Sunday.

As for Green, he showed the Browns more or less what they expected from the Arkansas standout. He appears to feel more comfortable as a runner. In order for him to take the next step in the NFL, he'll need to make more plays with his arm. 

Green would be a player worth keeping around on the practice squad.