The Cleveland Browns began the offseason with a major quarterback issue. They solved it (kinda) by bringing in four different guys to compete for the top job: rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, and veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.
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Head coach Kevin Stefanski has been very diplomatic in discussing the QB battle, saying that snaps and reps will be determined by need rather than by position on the depth chart. That probably means Gabriel and Sanders will be seeing more reps as they adjust not only to the speed of the NFL but also to a new playbook.
Cleveland spent draft capital on Gabriel and Sanders, so one of them is clearly the long-term plan. Meanwhile, 40-year-old Flacco seems like the easy choice to start at the top of the heap, considering he ran Stefanski’s offense so well he won Comeback Player of the Year back in 2023.
However, ESPN’s Ryan Clark believes that it’s actually the seeming odd man out, Pickett (a failed 2022 first-round pick of the Clark’s old team, the Pittsburgh Steelers), who will be the guy to take the reins. While Clark believes Sanders will eventually emerge as the guy, he views Pickett as the current “frontrunner.”
“I believe [Sanders] will start at some point next season. I believe Kenny Pickett will be the frontrunner. We have to remember he was the 20th overall pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers a few years ago,” said the former safety.
While Clark mentioned that Pickett was the frontrunner right now, it was clear he was more excited about Sanders. He’s probably not alone in that. After all, who doesn’t love a good underdog story?
That said, NBC’s Mike Florio had a different take on the battle within a battle between the veterans Flacco and Pickett. With only three QB spots likely available on the 53-man roster come September, the Browns will probably need to either trade one of their rookies or cut one of their veterans.
And according to Florio, not only will Pickett lose the starting job — he thinks the Browns might just cut him outright.
“I think Flacco stays [over Pickett] because Flacco’s the fan favorite. Flacco’s got the history, he’s got the equity there. If they move Flacco, people are gonna be pissed. If they move Pickett, nobody’s gonna care. I think it’s gonna be Flacco, it’s gonna be Gabriel, and it’s gonna be Sanders on the depth chart.”
Florio also noted that Deshaun Watson could actually come into play here. The embattled QB has been recovering from a torn Achilles. Recent reports suggest he is out of his walking boot and throwing passes on the field already, however.
The team has a lot of money tied up in injury insurance, so despite the fact that Watson seems to want to return to action this season, the Browns don’t really want him to.
Either way, the oddsmakers agree with Florio at the moment. Flacco is currently the betting favorite to be the team’s starting QB in Week 1, with -110 odds. Then comes Pickett at +225, Sanders at +400, Gabriel at +1,000, and Watson at +5,000.
