Sportsnaut
The Cleveland Browns are rolling with a four-quarterback competition this summer to determine who will be the starter in Week 1. While an official decision is months away, it might not be as much of a legitimate battle as some believed.
Browns’ reporter Zac Jackson of The Athletic writes that there’s ‘almost no scenario’ where either Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel wins the starting quarterback battle to open the regular season.
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It’s another sign that veteran quarterbacks Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco will receive a majority of the first-team reps at minicamp and in training camp. While reps are valuable for the rookies, the Browns coaching staff needs to truly assess whether Flacco or Pickett is the better option for this offense.
Cleveland didn’t invest any draft capital in Flacco, but he would seemingly have a slight edge over Pickett. Because the 40-year-old quarterback started five games for the Browns in 2023, he knows Kevin Stefanski’s system the most and that can be a significant advantage on the field.
Related: Insider explains thinking behind Cleveland Browns’ 4 QB strategy
There is also a lot of belief from national reporters that Flacco will win the starting job. NFL teams also reportedly think that Cleveland will wind up shopping one of its veteran quarterbacks in August, which could be Pickett. If that happens, it would provide a few more practice reps for Gabriel and Sanders.
As of now, the sentiment around the league remains that the Browns will only roster three quarterbacks when the regular season kicks off in September. Based on Cleveland’s draft investment, Flacco will be the starter and backed up by Gabriel with Sanders holding down the third-string quarterback spot on the depth chart.
Related: Cleveland Browns coach sheds light on division of practice reps for QBs
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