ClutchPoints
The Cleveland Browns might be staging the most crowded quarterback competition in NFL history coming into the 2025 season, and Joe Flacco has come out on the other side of it.
Flacco has been named the Browns’ Week 1 starter despite competing with Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Injuries played a large part in that, as the 40-year old was the only signal caller in Cleveland to stay healthy through training camp and the first two preseason games.
Pickett has been out for a while now with a hamstring injury and has missed both contests so far. Gabriel missed the first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers with a hamstring injury of his own, while Sanders missed the second game against the Philadelphia Eagles due to a nagging oblique injury. The Browns brought in Tyler Huntley, but he was never serious threat to challenge for the starting job.
Deshaun Watson, who is still on his fully-guaranteed contract, is also making progress in his recovery from a torn Achilles and would certainly love to be on the field when he gets back.
Despite the fact that Kevin Stefanski and company are trusting Flacco and rolling with him to start the season, there is a high chance that he doesn’t make it through the fill season as the starter. If the Browns fall out of playoff contention at any point — which, they are still the Browns — they would be wise to see what they have in Sanders and Gabriel before attacking next offseason in order to have better knowledge of the best path forward.
If Stefanski is going to make the switch, there is a clear logical spot for him to do so.
The Browns have a bye week in Week 9, which makes it the perfect point for Stefanski to make a change if things are going poorly on the field.
At this point, it appears that Dillon Gabriel is not ready to play in the NFL from a physical standpoint. His small frame makes it very difficult for him to consistently operate, even if he looked good at times in his preseason debut against the Philadelphia Eagles. On the other hand, Sanders is lagging behind Gabriel in a lot of the mental and operational aspects of the quarterback position and doesn’t appear ready to play right away from that standpoint.
Pickett could end up getting the second shot after Flacco, but at the midway point in the season it feels more likely that the Browns will want to see what they have in the two players that they recently drafted before heading into the offseason.
The schedule coming out of the bye week is also favorable for a young quarterback to come in and play comfortably. Cleveland plays against the New York Jets in Week 10 coming out of the bye week, so there are much tougher teams that you could play in your first...
