The Cleveland Browns prepared for the possibility of going with four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, but Sunday’s league-wide cuts came with a surprise.Dillon Gabriel will begin the season on injured reserve due to a back injury. He will be eligible to potentially return after four games, but he’s not on the initial active roster. The Browns will open the season with Deshaun Watson as the starting quarterback, Shedeur Sanders next in line and rookie Taylen Green as the No. 3 passer.Green likely will be a game day inactive as the emergency quarterback early in the season, but he could eventually be used as a short-yardage runner and gadget player.What to expect from Deshaun Watson as the Browns' starting QBZac JacksonThe Browns still have four quarterbacks in the mix, and there’s no real guarantee any of them will be in the team’s plans after this season. New Browns coach Todd Monken has insisted that Watson is the starter and that it’s not a week-to-week situation, but the Browns have had at least three starting quarterbacks in each of the last three years.Gabriel might have been available via trade had he been healthy, but the Browns were never going to give him away. Gabriel and Sanders are on their standard rookie contracts through the 2028 season.Green didn’t get many competitive reps this spring or summer and is viewed as a long-term developmental option, but because of his rare combination of size and athleticism, the Browns likely were going to be hesitant to let him hit the waiver wire on Monday, even if Gabriel was healthy. Unless another quarterback addition is made via the practice squad, the Browns will prepare for their Sept. 13 season opener in Jacksonville with Green as their scout-team quarterback.Roster remains fluidThere were no trades involving the Browns over the weekend — at least there haven’t been any yet. They figure to be seeking upgrades at tight end, cornerback and along the defensive line in the coming days.The first run of the waiver wire is Monday afternoon, after which teams can officially begin building their 16-man practice squads. Ten practice squad spots must go to players with two or fewer years of experience.Trades have often been a part of general manager Andrew Berry’s late-August decision-making process. Last year, the Browns traded quarterback Kenny Pickett and acquired offensive lineman KT Leveston just ahead of the roster deadline. Leveston was waived on Sunday but could return via the practice squad.The Browns chose to keep Luke Wypler and Zak Zinter as interior backups. Leveston started training camp competing for the starting right guard job but later moved back to tackle, where he made seven emergency starts last season. His versatility should help him retain an NFL job — on some level — for the season ahead.Wypler might be the backup center for now and one of the players whose roster spot could be in jeopardy as the Browns continue to shuffle things in the days ahead. Rookie center Parker Brailsford missed almost all of training camp with a thumb injury on his right (snapping) hand but was back to practice on a limited basis last week.Rookie Austin Barber is making a push to potentially take over the starting right guard job, which means Dawand Jones is the top backup tackle for now. If the Browns lost one of their starting tackles to injury, Barber could move back outside. He spent the spring and the first three weeks of training camp working mostly as a right tackle.Ins, outs and maybesThe Browns waived local product and preseason hero Luke Floriea despite him having three receiving touchdowns over the final two preseason games. The sixth wide receiver spot went to Malachi Corley, a move that says the Browns view Corley as a core special teams contributor.Outside of the Gabriel injured-reserve designation, it’s hard to say there were really any major surprises. Some of the decisions were complicated.Brailsford, fullback Michael Burton and defensive tackle Kalia Davis are on the initial 53-man roster despite missing almost all of training camp due to injury. Brailsford was a roster lock, but it was tough to project the other spots.The Browns chose to waive both of their undrafted rookie defensive ends, Khordae Sydnor and Logan Fano. At least for now, Burton and rookie tight end/fullback Carsen Ryan are on the roster.As expected, this is a young roster, with 23 of the 53 players having no more than one previous year of NFL experience. Only one undrafted rookie, cornerback Michael Coats Jr., made the initial 53.Nine of the team’s 10 2026 draft picks are on the active roster, with tight end Joe Royer, who’s been placed on the non-football illness list, the lone exception. Royer did not participate in any of the full-squad training camp practices and has been away from the team since July for undisclosed personal reasons, but he’ll be eligible to potentially play later this season.There are seven players 30 or older, so the Browns may not end up as the league’s youngest team by average age. But this is going to be a young team that will likely look to add youth in its obvious areas of need. Age probably won’t matter as the team seeks immediate help from a blocking-first tight end, but it figures to look for developmental players across the defense as Berry examines waiver and external practice squad options.Floriea, Leveston, Fano, Sydnor, running back Davon Booth, defensive tackle Tyreak Sapp and linebacker Nathaniel Watson are likely practice squad candidates, assuming they clear waivers and want to return to the team. The Browns kept only five linebackers, a sign they’ll add at least two to the practice squad this week.The full listHere are the moves the Browns made Sunday to trim their roster to 53.Placed on reserve/injured: Dillon Gabriel, QBPlaced on reserve/non-football illness: Joe Royer, TEContract terminated (3): Myles Bryant, CB; Sam Kamara, DT; D’Angelo Ross, CBWaived (16): Travis Bell, DT (eye) injury designation; Davon Booth, RB; Elijah Chatman, DT (quad) injury designation; Kingsley Eguakun, G; Logan Fano, DE; Luke Floriea, WR; Gage Larvadain, WR; KT Leveston, T; Ahmani Marshall, RB; Wes Pahl, P; Tyreak Sapp, DT; Khordae Sydnor, DE; Edefuan Ulofoshio, LB (biceps) injury designation; Zion Washington, S; Nathaniel Watson, LB; Kole Wilson, WR