The Cleveland Browns are approaching one of the odder training camps they’ll have in recent memory.
They truly go in with four quarterbacks who could conceptually be the starter with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
SI’s Albert Breer sums it up with one word: “Complicated.”
Breer also broke it down in a great way. Here’s much of what he wrote in a new piece on Monday:
Here are the first six weeks of the Browns’ schedule: Cincinnati, at Baltimore, Green Bay, at Detroit, Minnesota (in London), at Pittsburgh. That, if you’re keeping score at home, is five of last year’s playoff teams in a row, preceded by an opener against a team that was in the Super Bowl three years ago and has every right to believe getting back there in 2025 is on the radar.
I lay that out to say that there’s no soft landing in September through which the Browns can keep working their quarterback situation out. Time is short. Reps in camp will be valuable.
Bottom line: It wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the team to drag things out.
And to their credit, Kevin Stefanski, Tommy Rees and the staff have already been strategic about handling that. They know what Joe Flacco is, so they more or less sold him on taking a “first-round bye” through the spring, so they could get Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel more reps. With the additional reps came more information, and I’d expect that information will help them divide reps with the starters.
To that end, you’ll probably be able to see where things stand early on. Flacco will be in the running. Pickett almost certainly will be, too. Gabriel showed an ability to process and great feel for the position, and looked improved in how fast he was playing early on—plus adds some athletic ability. How often his size shows up in 11-on-11 will be key. And Sanders was behind the pack to start, but worked to catch up and will have to continue earning his reps.
I’d guess Stefanski and Rees will want to narrow the competition early on, just to get the other guys on offense more work with quarterbacks who are truly in the running to lead the team as it navigates that brutal early schedule. There’s also the matter of what type of offense they’ll play—Pickett and Gabriel, for example, would have more elements keying on their athleticism than Flacco or Sanders would—that needs to be figured out.
Breer also goes on to remind that eventually, Deshaun Watson will return from his torn Achilles.
The Browns have a lot of different ways they can go here. For a team that might be rather rough this season, it’s quite the compelling storyline anyway.
And it’s safe to expect that multiple QBs will get starts in Cleveland this season, too.
There’s still much to be determined.
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