There is plenty of time before final roster cuts in August, but the Browns are already considering holding onto all four of their quarterbacks.
General manager Andrew Berry said (via Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports) that Cleveland could “absolutely” carry four quarterbacks into the regular season, provided, of course, that “they all play well enough.” According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, all four “answered the bell” this spring.
The Browns value Joe Flacco‘s familiarity with Kevin Stefanski‘s offensive scheme; those traits are also the reason that Flacco took limited reps during OTAs and minicamp, typically with the first team, per Epstein. That has allowed Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to sort through the team’s younger options: ex-Steelers first-rounder Kenny Pickett and rookie draft picks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
If the Browns go with three quarterbacks, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal believes that either Flacco or Pickett will be the odd man out. Flacco’s experience is his biggest plus, but Cleveland was more aggressive in its pursuit of Pickett this offseason. The Browns traded for him on the first day of the new league year, while Flacco did not sign until April.
Obviously, the Browns are unlikely to cut Gabriel after drafting him in the third round. They could try to sneak Sanders through waivers after every other team passed on him multiple times in the draft, but he could be claimed if another squad’s backup gets injured during training camp.
Roughly two months remain until training camp, and minicamp is still weeks away. But the Browns’ quarterback competition will begin to take shape at OTAs, which started today.
A player the Eagles did not deem a priority, as Tanner McKee is set to move into their QB2 role, is expected to take the first reps with the starters at OTAs. Kenny Pickett indeed will enter Cleveland’s on-field voluntary work receiving the first crack in the starting role, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot notes.
Pickett starter buzz, despite his quick Pittsburgh exit and uninspiring Philadelphia stay, has picked up recently. OTAs do not provide any padded reps, but they are certainly part of the conversation. The Browns have one of the more complicated quarterback situations in many years, especially considering the Deshaun Watson component, and Pickett is suddenly a key presence after effectively hovering off the radar at Eagles OTAs last year.
Affirming Pickett will see the first work at OTAs, Cabot offered an update that Dillon Gabriel is likely set to be the second QB in this mix. Kevin Stefanski recently said Browns QB reps will not be doled out equally this offseason, and the May and June work will be important here. Training camp does not offer a setup where a four-man QB competition can realistically be conducted, due to time constraints, so it is certainly possible one member of this mix will be eliminated from a realistic starter path by that point. Through this lens, Gabriel’s OTA status becomes more noteworthy.
The Browns prioritized Gabriel in the draft, ranking him ahead ofJalen Milroeand new teammate Shedeur Sanders. GM Andrew Berry deemed the six-year college QB a better fit compared to Sanders; of course, that was before the team then circled back to the freefalling Colorado passer in Round 5. While ownership making its stance known re: Sanders is certainly possible, he is part of the competition along with Pickett, Gabriel and Joe Flacco. Sanders’ status also will overshadow Gabriel, who is in the historically strange position of seeing a QB drafted later by his own team dwarf his popularity.
Viewed as a Day 3 pick, Gabriel — who started at Oregon, Oklahoma and Central Florida — went off the board 50 spots before Sanders. Going at No. 94, the 5-foot-11 prospect appeared a handpicked option — whereas Sanders profiled as a value play. Sanders’ presence complicates Gabriel’s Cleveland future, but for now, the two-year Buffaloes starter resides in the background in Cleveland. He and Flacco, in some order, are set to enter OTAs in the Nos. 3 and 4 spots, Cabot offers. The Browns guaranteed Flacco $3MM, while cutting Pickett (and seeing no team claim him) would bring a $2.6MM cost.
All four will receive plenty of reps during OTAs, as concurrent QB drills will commence, but the team will need to make a plan for training camp. Team work once in training camp will begin to shape the competition ahead of the regular season, with the preseason providing the final evaluations. Teams rarely carry four passers on a 53-man roster, though it is not unprecedented. That said, the Browns either keeping all four or presenting a roster with two rookie draftees on the final 53 would mark a rare occurrence.
Watson’s status will still be worth monitoring, as he has resumed throwing, but the trade bust is not viewed as part of the current competition. His second Achilles tear is expected to lead to a placement on the reserve/PUP list, after residing on the active/PUP list (a camp-only designation) while the other four QBs vie to replace him as Cleveland’s starter. Even though Flacco and Sanders are bigger names than Pickett and Gabriel, the latter contingent appears to have the upper hand early.
As the Browns look forward to Organized Team Activities, head coach Kevin Stefanski reflected on what he’s seen thus far in the team’s offseason program. According to ESPN’s Tony Grossi, Stefanski seemed to indicate that the narrative that all four quarterbacks will be competing for the starting job is losing steam.
Technically, Cleveland rosters five quarterbacks. Incumbent starter Deshaun Watson remains under contract with the Browns, but there’s a decent chance he won’t be available in 2025. The 29-year-old’s lackluster 2024 campaign ended when he suffered an Achilles tendon tear, and when news of a second Achilles tear surfaced in January, his availability for next season immediately came into question. He can’t be entirely ruled out, though, as we saw reports this week that Watson had shed his walking boot and resumed throwing.
That being said, Watson will not be a factor during the remainder of the team’s offseason program. The four passers participating this summer are veteran Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. With so many low-dollar contracts involved, one would think that he starting job is up for grabs and anyone’s to take. That doesn’t appear to be the case, per Stefanski’s comments.
When asked how reps will be divided among the four, Stefanski gave the impression that it will not be done with an even 25 percent split. “It’s not going to be that way,” he told reporters. “The big thing for us is making sure we give the guys enough reps that they need, making sure they have enough for both learning the system and developing and for us to evaluate them.”
It looks like the veterans, Flacco and Pickett, will get the majority of the reps, and Gabriel and Sanders will need to make up for their lack of playing time with virtual reality technology via the team’s new virtual walk-through room. It seems the virtual reality trend, made popular by Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, is extending its reach. Daniels adopted the practice at LSU and made its implementation a requirement for any team that drafted him. As a result, Daniels turned in one of the greatest rookie seasons we’ve seen out of a quarterback, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and taking Washington to the NFC Championship.
The Browns will count on this technology now to help bring their rookies up to NFL speed. “VR can be a big tool, especially for young players,” Stefanski said. “It’s really dependent on the player, how they like it. That’s something we’ll definitely be working with the next three weeks.”
Stefanski didn’t give a timeline for when the team will make its decisions. Grossi points out that two-day joint practice sessions with other teams serve as crucial practices for Stefanski’s decision-making, and the Brown will get two such sessions before their preseason games with the Panthers and Eagles. He did say, though, that the staff would make a plan for training camp based on what they see in the next month or so.
At the moment, it seems Flacco’s experience gives him the edge. The 40-year-old passer has 17 seasons of NFL play under his belt, has won a Super Bowl, and has successful experience as the starting quarterback in Cleveland’s system. From there, the next few weeks will be crucial for Pickett, Gabriel, and Sanders to establish themselves and gain ground in the position battle.
MAY 23: During an appearance on ESPN Cleveland radio, head coach Kevin Stefanski said there will not be an even distribution of quarterback reps this offseason. That comes as little surprise, but the door is obviously still open to all four passers earning the starting gig depending on how training camp shakes out.
MAY 19: Since the Browns used a selection during the second and third days of the draft on a quarterback, questions have lingered about how they will sort out the position in 2025. Plenty of time remains for things to change on that front, but a few early indications have emerged.
Rookies Dillon Gabrieland Shedeur Sanders are joined by trade acquisition Kenny Pickettand veteran Joe Flacco, re-acquired in free agency this spring. That quartet could shrink in size during roster cutdowns, but for the time being it can be expected to remain intact. Even in the wake of the Saints losing Derek Carrto retirement, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com writes no QB trade is being planned at this point.
If such a move were to be made, Cabot recently named Flacco as the passer likeliest to find himself on the move. For now, though, he is in position to compete for a spot on the depth chart upon returning to Cleveland. The 40-year-old helped guide the Browns to the postseason upon joining them midway through the 2023 campaign, and he represented a logical target to return this year. With Deshaun Watsonunlikely to play in 2025 while rehabbing his second Achilles tear, Flacco could at least open the year as the starter with the rookies developing.
As Cabot adds, however, it is Pickett who appears to be the frontrunner heading into upcoming OTAs and June’s mandatory minicamp. The former Steelers first-rounder saw his Pittsburgh tenure end in short order after a disappointing spell atop the depth chart. His trade to the Eagles resulted in a one-year backup stint behind Jalen Hurts and a single start in Week 18. To no surprise, Cleveland declined Pickett’s fifth-year option for 2026, meaning he enters the year as a pending free agent.
In a separate piece, Cabot writes there will be a split of two QB pairings to divvy up reps during offseason work, which is a reasonable approach given the uncertainty surrounding the position. Pickett is slated to operate as the No. 1 (at least, to begin the process) and Cabot predicts he will be partnered with Gabriel. That would leave Flacco and Sanders alternating third-string reps, albeit with the potential to move up the pecking order depending on their performances.
Gabriel and Sanders will remain under team control through 2028 on the rookie deals, so the Browns can be expected to retain them well past this summer’s training camp. With Flacco and Pickett’s respective futures much less clear, though, it will be interesting to see how they fare during practice. The latter could help his market value to a great extent with a sustained QB1 run in Cleveland, and his audition period for the gig will begin soon.
While the ink still isn’t dry on Joe Flacco‘s contract with the Browns, there’s already speculation that the veteran may not make it to the regular season with his new squad. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Joe Flacco is likely the odd man out in the Browns quarterbacks room.
The team’s positional depth has obviously changed a bit since Flacco inked a deal with Cleveland in early April. The Browns added a pair of big-name rookies via the draft, and it sounds like the team is committed to giving roster spots to both third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and surprising fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders.
As the Browns navigated Deshaun Watson‘s injury and tenuous standing on their squad, the team went out and made a trade for Kenny Pickett earlier this offseason. Cabot believes the former first-round pick is in prime position to retain his roster spot, and that would leave Flacco on the outside looking in.
The team would surely only commit three roster spots to the quarterback position, but Cabot says the team could hang on to four QBs for the first iteration of their 53-man roster. The team did something similar last year, when they kept Tyler Huntley with the hopes of a trade popping up. A deal never came to fruition, and the organization moved on from Huntley before Week 1.
It’s hard to envision a long line of suitors for Flacco. That has nothing to do with his quality of play—even during his age-39 season, Flacco won a pair of games while tossing 12 touchdowns vs. seven interceptions. Rather, teams will likely be cognizant of Flacco’s spot on Cleveland’s roster, and they may just wait out an inevitable release if they truly have interest in the veteran.
On the flip side, Flacco could simply play himself into a role, potentially leading to a tricky situation for the Browns. The most likely path would see them move on from Pickett, but if both vets are truly deserving of a spot, then it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for them to ditch a draft pick or try to sneak a rookie onto their practice squad.
Meanwhile, we’ve finally gotten some details on Flacco’s contract (via OverTheCap.com). His one-year, $4MM pact includes $3MM in guaranteed money, although a chunk of that total is tied to roster bonuses that could be avoided. Flacco is also attached to a $2.85MM cap hit, and the Browns would be left with half of that on the books if they outright released the quarterback.
NFL teams have until May 1 to officially pick up fifth-year options on 2022 first-rounders. The 2020 CBA revamped the option structure and made them fully guaranteed, rather than guaranteed for injury only. Meanwhile, fifth-year option salaries are now determined by a blend of performance- and usage-based benchmarks:
Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternates) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag
One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag
Players who achieve any of the following will receive the average of the third-20th-highest salaries at their position:
At least a 75% snap rate in two of their first three seasons
A 75% snap average across all three seasons
At least 50% in each of first three seasons
Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will receive the average of the third-25th top salaries at their position
We covered how last year’s Pro Bowl invites affected the 2022 first-round class. With the deadline looming, we will use the space below to track all the 2026 option decisions from around the league:
Kenny Pickettis on his third career team, and he could find himself on the move again next offseason. The former first-round quarterback will head into next season as a pending free agent.
The Browns will decline Pickett’s 2026 fifth-year option, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. That comes as no surprise, of course. The former Steelers draftee is in position to compete for playing time on his new team, but he is far from a lock to handle starting duties. Picking up the option would have represented a $22.12MM commitment on the part of the Browns for 2026.
Widely seen as the most pro-ready prospect at the position in the 2022 draft class – one not held in high regard – Pickett was the first quarterback to hear his name called. That put him in position to handle starting duties right away in an attempt to represent a long-term Ben Roethlisberger successor for the Steelers. Things did not go according to plan, though, and the decision to bench him through the 2023 postseason after returning from injury signaled a departure could be coming.
Indeed, part of the Steelers’ efforts to rebuild their QB room last spring included dealing Pickett to the Eagles. In Philadelphia, he operated as Jalen Hurts‘ backup and made one start. Instead of remaining in Pennsylvania for 2025, though, the 26-year-old will spend the year in Cleveland. The Browns traded Dorian Thompson-Robinsonas well as a fifth-round pick to the Eagles to acquire Pickett; that move could very well prove to be a one-year rental.
The Browns’ new-look quarterback depth chart consists of Deshaun Watson(whose Achilles tear will cost him most, if not all, of 2025), Joe Flacco(who returned to the team after a one-year absence) and a pair of rookies. Cleveland selected Dillon Gabrielin the third round of the the draft, and followed that move by trading up in the fifth round to acquire Shedeur Sanders. The Browns did not plan on making multiple additions during the draft, but Gabriel and/or Sanders could find themselves in the team’s long-term plans depending on how they develop.
Pickett, meanwhile, will spend training camp vying for the QB1 gig. He has 25 starts to his name – a figure which falls well short of Flacco’s experience but obviously makes him more of a known commodity than the team’s rookies. If Pickett winds up atop the depth chart and has a successful stint this season, he could earn a new Browns commitment. For now, though, his future beyond 2025 is uncertain.
As the Browns follow the Texans in constructing an extended departure ramp for Deshaun Watson, they have since added four quarterbacks. Each of the players would have a path to starting for a team that saw its highest-paid passer wildly disappoint before suffering two Achilles tears.
As Watson rehabs, the Browns are effectively moving on (though, a monumental dead money hit will loom if that happens in 2026). And the draft brought an unusual outcome. The Browns surprised most by taking Oregon’s Dillon Gabriellate in the third round. Gabriel came off the board 94th, shortly after Jalen Milroebut a full round before Shedeur Sanders. Widely anticipated to go in the first or second rounds, Sanders tumbled to 144th overall. The Browns stopped his skid hours after Andrew Berryhad deemed Gabriel a better fit.
Becoming the rare team to select two quarterbacks in the same draft, the Browns added the rookies to a position group housing Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco. (Flacco’s return and the ensuing draft moves will cut off a Kirk Cousins-to-Cleveland path.) The former arrived via trade in March, while the latter is back for a second tour of duty in Cleveland. Both veterans, Flacco especially, have extensive starting experience and could serve as placeholders. Though, we do not know yet who the bridge QBs will be setting up just yet.
Carrying the cheapest contract of the bunch, Sanders will undoubtedly bring by far the most attention. The Browns were once connected to potentially drafting the two-year Colorado starter second overall. A historic draft fall then commenced, allowing the team to trade up (via the Seahawks) for the polarizing prospect in the fifth round. Cleveland certainly did not plan to draft Sanders, but the value proved too enticing. A player viewed as a top-35 (or top-five, in Mel Kiper Jr.’s case) overall prospect will begin training for a potential starting role.
QBs chosen in Round 5 or later obviously have a low percentage shot of hitting, and the NFL effectively showed how it viewed Sanders this weekend. Sanders’ draft slide dwarfed Malik Willis‘ from 2022, as it appeared teams deemed Deion Sanders‘ son/pupil not worth the potential distractions he may bring. Shedeur’s attitude during pre-draft visits came up as one of the reasons he fell, and he is not going to a team that has done well at the quarterback position, for the most part, since rebooting in 1999. That said, Sanders could also make the highly unusual trek from fifth-round rookie to starter. Not too much is blocking him, should outside evaluators’ view be accurate (compared to a perception within the league).
The Browns saw Flacco deliver one of the most memorable QB stretches since they reemerged at the turn of the century, having seen the then-38-year-old join the practice squad and serve as a stunningly effective emergency replacement for Watson. Although Flacco earned Comeback Player of the Year acclaim for his five-game run that lifted an injury-plagued Browns offense to the playoffs, he is now 40 and coming off an unremarkable Colts cameo.
Indianapolis had benched Anthony Richardson in hopes Flacco could stabilize the offense, as a potential playoff berth was deemed a priority over Richardson development. After already subbing for an injured Richardson early last year, Flacco could not hold the job as an non-injury fill-in.
Shane Steichen benched Flacco after a three-INT game in Minnesota, and although he did return to replace Richardson late in the season (featuring a 330-yard loss to the Giants — in a game that cost the NFC East team Cam Ward), the Browns stand to have a diminished version of the former Super Bowl MVP compared to their 2023 edition. Still, Flacco has a path to the Week 1 gig as well.
Pickett could also lay claim to the role, but the Browns picking two quarterbacks by Round 5 also could lead him out of town. The former Steelers No. 20 overall pick has now been traded in back-to-back offseasons, with the second sending historically ineffective Browns backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson to Philly. Pickett did not impress in his second Steelers season, wrapping a 24-start tenure with 13 TD passes. Pittsburgh traded Pickett after he did not respond well to the Russell Wilson signing, as the Pitt alum sought a new team. Pickett’s struggles against the Commanders led to a late-season Eagles loss, and he left his lone Jalen Hurts relief start with a rib injury.
One season remains on Pickett’s rookie deal, which calls for a $2.62MM base salary. The Browns would take on that amount in dead money if they were to waive Pickett. That did not appear much of a possibility before the draft, as 2022’s top QB choice arrived before Flacco to at least compete for the starting job. But subsequent events complicate that route. Although, two-time Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski having a crack at Pickett — after embattled OC Matt Canada did not do much with him — at least represents an intriguing wild card here.
The first QB the Browns chose this year will step into the unusual spot of being overshadowed by a rookie in his own position group. Gabriel will come to Ohio having been Cleveland’s preference over Sanders, but he will now have to prove it in a way he may not have before the latter investment. Ranked 148th on Daniel Jeremiah‘s NFL.com big board (128 spots behind Sanders), Gabriel started throughout his college career — at Central Florida, Oklahoma and Oregon.
The Ducks’ Bo Nix successor played in a tougher conference, after Oregon’s Big Ten move, and won the league’s Offensive Player of the Year award. That did not result in draft gurus viewing the 5-foot-11 QB as anything but a Day 3 prospect, but the Browns disagreed and will give him a chance to start.
While one of these QBs could be sent to the practice squad, it would be unlikely if Sanders or Gabriel cleared waivers. Pickett would also need to clear waivers to be stashed. Though, it is now easier to imagine Pickett reaching free agency than one of Cleveland’s two recent QB draftees. This complicated situation will be the runaway lead Browns story moving forward, as the Myles Garrett matter is settled. The team’s QB future was supposed to loom large in the Browns regrouping with Garrett, but if this plan does not work out, Berry also secured an extra 2026 first-round pick by trading out of the Travis Hunterdraft slot.
Who will win the offseason competition? And, more importantly, who do you think will end the season as the team’s primary starter? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts on this swiftly evolving setup in the comments section.
When asked specifically about Sanders, Berry said (via Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot) that “all options are on the table.” He went on to say that the team is focused on finding a “long-term” quarterback and isn’t necessarily looking for a 2025 starter in the draft, according to Jackson.
At the moment, though, the Browns seem more likely to take Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter or Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter with the No. 2 pick. Their second-rounder (No. 34 overall) could then be used to acquire a quarterback, potentially via a trade up into the end of the first round.
Using the second overall pick on a quarterback would put pressure on that player to start right away in Cleveland. A late first- or early second-rounder could still compete for a starting job as a rookie, but he could also sit behind Flacco and Kenny Pickett to aid his development. Neither veteran, however, projects as a clear starter for the 2025 season.
“I don’t think there’s any expectation of exactly who’s going to be the starting quarterback,” said Flacco (via NFL.com’s Kevin Patra). The former Raven hasn’t earned a starting job out of training camp since his 2019 stint with the Broncos. He was, however, the go-to QB2 for the Jets, Browns, and Colts over the last three seasons with 15 total starts. Flacco did receive interest from Baltimore about returning as a backup to Lamar Jackson, per Mike Preston of The Baltimore Sun, but opted to sign in Cleveland due to the potential of a starting opportunity. The Ravens ended up with Cooper Rush as Jackson’s backup.
Pickett has openly expressed his desire to start for the Browns in 2025, though his previous starting experience in Pittsburgh left much to be desired.
“That’s the plan, man. I’m not going there to hang out,” said Pickett (via TribLive’s Jerry DiPaola). “I want to go play. I’m excited, been working hard for it, taking it a day at a time.”
A few weeks ago, we saw Browns defensive end Myles Garrettmake an about face on his stance for the team’s chances for contention on their current trajectory. While it hasn’t been said exclusively, one may assume that, in the team’s meetings and negotiations with Garrett, Cleveland gave him some insight into the team’s plans for becoming contenders.
One way that Cleveland could improve at the position is by drafting a talented rookie, but at No. 2 overall, the Browns sit just out of reach of the class’s best quarterback, Miami’s Cam Ward, who’s expected to be taken No. 1 overall by the Titans. While one might think it wouldn’t take too much to move up and exchange places with Tennessee, general manager Andrew Berry said at league meetings this week that the team is “unlikely” to trade up for Ward, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
By not further addressing the quarterback position, the Browns would be setting themselves up to enter the 2025 NFL season with only Watson — who is questionable to be healthy by that time — and Pickett as options at QB1. That doesn’t seem to worry Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, who told the media today that he believes in Pickett to be the team’s Week 1 starter “if it lands that way.” Over three years with the Steelers and Eagles, Pickett has a 15-10 record as a starter in the NFL with 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
General manager Andrew Berry said (via Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports) that Cleveland could “absolutely” carry four quarterbacks into the regular season, provided, of course, that “they all play well enough.” According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, all four “answered the bell” this spring.
