The Cleveland Browns are loaded at quarterback. Not necessarily with proven talent, but with bodies. The Browns have five quarterbacks of note, four of whom are going to vie for the starting job this season. There's the injured and disgraced starter, Deshaun Watson, who is likely out for the year with an Achilles injury.
After him, we have Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. Flacco is your likely pick to start the season. Even though he's 40, he's played well the last two seasons, where he threw for over 3,000 yards, 25 touchdowns, and went 6-5 across stints in Cleveland and Indianapolis with the Colts.
Pickett Will Likely Be the Odd Man Out in Browns QB Room
Pickett, the former first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers just three seasons prior, will look to earn a backup spot on the team. Pickett will have competition in the form of Gabriel and Sanders. Both men are rookies, taken in the third and fifth rounds, respectively, of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Their arrival will likely push Pickett out of town. Barring Flacco falling apart during training camp, that is. Assuming Flacco can repeat the success he's shown the last two years, which included a playoff birth in 2023 with the Browns, the team will likely focus on finding his backup. The pressure is on Pickett and, to a lesser extent, Gabriel.
Sanders is coming in with a load of steam and a lot of hype. He was seen by many as the second-best quarterback in the class and a top-three pick at worst. He fell on the third day, and many others believe that he fell for a reason. If Sanders is the player many thought he was in Colorado, it's likely that he won't only win the backup job, but he'll also then push Flacco out of the starting spot.
If Sanders doesn't showcase the talent so many claimed he had, he and Gabriel will likely battle it out for the backup spot. Either way, it's very unlikely that the Browns will release Sanders or Gabriel in favor of Pickett. If rumors of his poor performances are to be believed, it's likely Pickett isn't lasting too long in Cleveland.