Steelers Now
The Cleveland Browns released their first preseason depth chart Monday, offering a glimpse at the team’s current quarterback hierarchy and raising eyebrows in the process.
Veteran Joe Flacco is listed as the starter, followed by Kenny Pickett as the No. 2 option. Rookie Dillon Gabriel holds the third spot, while fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders, once projected as a first-round selection, opens camp as the fourth-string quarterback.
Cleveland’s quarterback room may be the most polarizing in the NFL. Flacco, 39, brings 16 seasons of experience and more than 42,000 career passing yards. The Super Bowl XLVII MVP was signed in the offseason to provide leadership and stability.
Pickett, the former first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022, finds himself on his third team in as many years. After struggling in Pittsburgh, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he spent the 2024 season backing up Jalen Hurts. Now entering his fourth season, Pickett is hoping to revive his career in Cleveland.
Gabriel, a third-round pick out of Oregon, was viewed by some analysts as a reach on draft day. However, his production at the collegiate level including nearly 4,000 passing yards and 30 touchdowns in his final season earned him a spot in the crowded quarterback room.
The most notable name on the list is Sanders, who fell to the fifth round despite being projected as a first-round talent by many draft experts earlier in the process. The former Colorado standout holds the NCAA Division I FBS career record for completion percentage at 71.8 percent with 651 completions on 907 attempts. His draft slide reportedly stemmed from concerns about his personality and the media attention that tends to follow him rather than questions about his on-field ability.
NFL teams typically carry only two or three quarterbacks on their 53-man rosters, meaning Sanders faces an uphill battle to make the team unless a trade or injury changes the equation.
Cleveland’s quarterback situation remains fluid as training camp progresses and the competition behind Flacco is expected to intensify heading into the preseason opener.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Browns Name Joe Flacco — Not Kenny Pickett — Preseason Starter
