NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 25: Harold Fannin Jr. #44 of the Cleveland Browns runs the ball against Marcus Harris #26 of the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at Nissan Stadium on October 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) Getty
The Cleveland Browns kept all four quarterbacks Monday, but a rookie tight end lost his roster spot in the process.
The Browns waived Carsen Ryan to make room for Dillon Gabriel, who was activated from injured reserve after missing the first seven games with a back injury.
Gabriel joins Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and rookie Taylen Green on the 53-man roster. That gives Cleveland considerable insurance at quarterback, but the room to keep it had to come from somewhere.
The Browns now have twice as many quarterbacks as tight ends on their active roster, with Harold Fannin Jr. and Blake Whiteheart the only players remaining at Ryan's position.
Before the move, head coach Todd Monken said the Gabriel decision involved more than determining whether the quarterback was ready to play.
"Some of it is health; some of it is roster management that Andrew and I have to work through," Monken said, referring to general manager Andrew Berry.
Cleveland ultimately protected its entire quarterback group while exposing one of its rookie draft picks to waivers. Ryan is expected to rejoin the Browns' practice squad, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.
The Browns selected Ryan in the seventh round at No. 248 overall in April. He was the second tight end in their draft class, joining fifth-round selection Joe Royer as Cleveland added young options around Fannin.
Ryan finished his college career at BYU after two seasons at UCLA and one at Utah. He caught 45 passes for 620 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games for the Cougars in 2025.
He finished his four-year college career with 74 receptions for 1,020 yards and seven touchdowns. The rookie earned a place on Cleveland's roster, but his draft status offered no protection once the Browns needed another opening. Keeping developmental quarterbacks meant giving up a spot occupied by a developmental tight end.
GettyNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 25: Harold Fannin Jr. #44 of the Cleveland Browns runs the ball against Marcus Harris #26 of the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at Nissan Stadium on October 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The Browns' current roster lists Royer on the reserve/non-football illness list and John FitzPatrick on the practice squad. That leaves Fannin and Whiteheart as the team's two active-roster tight ends following Ryan's departure. Ryan can be called up from the practice squad three times on game days.
Fannin remains central to the offense. He caught six passes for 91 yards in Sunday's 27-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans, including the 36-yard catch on the final drive that helped set up Andre Szmyt's winning field goal.
As for the quarterback hierarchy, Gabriel's activation also is not expected to push Sanders out of the backup job. Before the move, cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot reported that Sanders would remain No. 2 behind Watson .
The Browns will head to Pittsburgh this week for a AFC North divisional matchup against the Steelers . Cleveland won the first matchup 27-24.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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