Cleveland Browns picked two quarterbacks last year, and both of them are regular names in trade talk. Dillon Gabriel is widely believed to be traded either this offseason or after, and one trade destination is set to reunite him with familiar faces. 

“By far, the most logical landing spot would be Atlanta, where he would reunite with his head coach and offensive coordinator from last year, Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Rees,” Cleveland Browns on Sports Illustrated wrote on July 6. 

The Atlanta Falcons, valued at $6.35 billion, are cited as Gabriel’s best landing spot. Apart from gaining a player who has well-established relations with the offense coaches, the Falcons would benefit from other reasons.

Two passers on the team, Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, are left-handed, much like Gabriel. The article stated that having a quarterback room with the same left-hand likeness would make plays easier for pass-catchers. 

“The ball spins and therefore behaves differently in the air than when it’s thrown by a right-handed quarterback,” Rafael Zamorano opined. 

In his rookie season, Gabriel passed for 937 yards and scored seven touchdowns. His passing stats might not be impressive, but the 25-year-old threw just two interceptions. That is eight fewer than Sanders, last year’s Browns lead passer. 

In exchange for Gabriel, the Browns would receive the Falcons’ present third-stringer, Trevor Siemian. The Browns are in the midst of a two-man competition between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson for the starting quarterback competition.

The competition is set to carry into the training camp with no indication of who the frontrunner is. Regardless of the result, Shedeur Sanders and 2026 pick Taylen Green could benefit from the experience 34-year-old Siemian has to offer, per the article. 

As this season is the last in Watson’s five-year contract with the Browns, the AFC team would benefit from this plausible exchange. This deal could also pivot Gabriel’s career, as he would once again play for the head coach who has faith in him.

Dillon Gabriel and Kevin Stefanski’s existing dynamics

Last season, when the Cleveland Browns went 5-12, former head coach Kevin Stefanski was widely believed to favor Dillon Gabriel over Shedeur Sanders. The latter did not play until Week 10, when an injury ended Gabriel’s season. 

Reports suggest that Gabriel was on the team because of Stefanski’s insistence. 

ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi shared that Stefanski’s input in the 2025 NFL draft “weighed heavily” on the Browns’ decision to pick Gabriel. They eventually picked him 94th overall last year. If Gabriel is traded to the Falcons, he would return to familiarity. 

This trade becomes even more important. The Browns’ new head coach, Todd Monken, has not included Gabriel in the QB1 competition. Instead, he is weighing between Deshaun Watson and Sanders.

“I’m fired up by the quarterbacks. I’ll just tell you, we’ve got two starting-level quarterbacks,” Monken said on June 9.

That leaves Gabriel to focus on improving himself for the future. He revealed as much in the OTA workout program. 

“Yeah, just running my own race and developing each day and getting better,” Gabriel said. “That’s all you can do.”

With that in mind, this trade deal, if brought into existence, could be another beneficial one the Browns make. Do you think they will? Tell us your thoughts in the comments. 

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Written by

Akanksha Biradar