All Cleveland Browns fans, for perhaps the last literal century, have been focused on the disastrous play under center at the quarterback position. Drafting both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders has obviously caused some distractions, yet perhaps no organization is better prepared for the chaos.
Most expect Sanders to beat out Gabriel on the depth chart, and the Browns' order of drafting these signal callers never really made sense in the first place. Regardless, the latest news of Sanders' rookie contract put a different quarterback under thin ice: the beloved Joe Flacco.
Sanders signed a four-year, $4.6 million contract. For a team like Cleveland in desperate need of finding a diamond in the rough, Flacco becomes the odd man out.
Shedeur Sanders Contract Puts Browns QB Joe Flacco on Thin Ice
That isn't good news for Flacco, who at 40 years old isn't someone that could reliably be considered a long-term answer for the future. His 2023 stretch helping deliver the organization to the playoffs will go down in franchise history and he'll be a beloved figure, but there's no question that he's not someone who should be kept around if you're trying to build for the future.
As Mary Kay Cabot points out, the Browns traded a draft pick to acquire Pickett. While Flacco carries about $500,000 more in dead cap weight, Cleveland just signed him off the street. They've invested resources into Pickett and are incentivized to see the former first-round pick's development through to the end.
Gabriel, Sanders, and Pickett are the most likely quarterbacks who will be on this roster when the 2025 season starts. If not, it's a massive indictment on whoever gets left out.
We'll see what happens, but Flacco's days in the NFL are obviously numbered.