Sportsnaut
The Cleveland Browns entered organized team activities with a four-man quarterback battle between Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. While it’s just days into the competition, there’s an early standout to this point.
The Athletic‘s Zac Jackson wrote in his OTA observations that Flacco ‘should be’ well ahead of Gabriel and Sanders. The 40-year-old quarterback is also throwing the ball better than anyone else in practice and he’s demonstrated he can ‘rip it’ in practice. As of now, Flacco is the favorite to win the job.
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Notably, per Jackson, Pickett is also showcased ‘some obvious gifts’ in limited practice reps. Flacco and Pickett are receiving most of the first-team reps, alternating turns in OTAs. Gabriel is also out-repping Sanders, which was expected based on the draft capital invested in both quarterbacks.
Not only does Flacco have the liveliest arm among Browns’ quarterbacks, but he also is familiar with Kevin O’Connell’s system. Having started five games for Cleveland in 2023, the current leader atop the Browns’ depth chart seems to have the physical and mental advantage as of now.
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When minicamp begins later in June, Pickett and Flacco will be competing for the starting job while Gabriel and Sanders compete to be the long-term heir. Both battles should last into training camp, but Cleveland could signal its intentions in August.
There remains a belief around the league that the Browns will try and trade one of the two veteran quarterbacks in August, likely Pickett. It would open up more practice reps for the rookie quarterbacks, also allowing Gabriel and Sanders to compete to be the backup quarterback to Flacco in Week 1.
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