The Cleveland Browns wrapped up the 2025 NFL preseason on Saturday with a 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Now the Browns’ attention turns to Week 1 of the regular season, which starts with a meeting against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Over the next several days, the Browns will work on finalizing their 53-man roster and the practice squad. In addition to that, Cleveland still needs to figure out who will be their QB2 ahead of the season opener.
Joe Flacco has officially been named the starter and looked good in the finale, but there are question marks on whether QB2 will be Kenny Pickett or maybe Dillon Gabriel, who showed some flashes in Saturday’s win.
On Sunday, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski provided an update on Pickett, which could give us a glimpse of who could be the backup.
#Browns Stefanski said he expects Kenny Pickett (hamstring) to be available for Week 1. He’s still working through who will be the backup to Joe Flacco.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 24, 2025
Kevin Stefanski Expecting Kenny Pickett to Be Available for Regular Season Opener
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Stefanski told reporters that he expects Kenny Pickett to be available for Week 1. However, the Browns head coach added he’s “still working through” who will be the backup behind Flacco.
The Browns expected Pickett to be in the running for the starting job when they acquired him in the offseason from the Philadelphia Eagles. But Pickett’s hamstring injury sidelined him for the preseason, which hurt his chances to compete for the starting job.
On the other hand, it allowed rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders to get a lot of reps, as the Browns hope one of those two guys could be the future starter.
That said, not all is lost for Pickett. If he’s healthy enough to practice, the Browns will likely give him first dibs to be the backup quarterback. Given the Browns’ current situation on offense, they likely do not want to throw Gabriel or Sanders into the fire if Flacco were to get hurt.
At least with Pickett, it gives Cleveland another veteran option who can step in at a moment’s notice. We saw that with the former first-round pick last season with the Philadelphia Eagles, who called upon Pickett when Jalen Hurts got hurt.
Nonetheless, with gameday still several days away, it will be interesting to see what Stefanski ultimately does in the QB room behind Flacco.