Shedeur Sanders

Browns Name Dillon Gabriel Backup QB

The Browns’ QB situation has become much clearer in the coming days. Along with Joe Flacco being set to operate as the starter, the pecking order behind him has now been set.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Tuesday (via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.comDillon Gabriel will serve as the team’s backup quarterback. That news means fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders will work as QB3. Today’s update comes as no surprise given how training camp has played out.

Sanders has found himself last on the depth chart throughout the summer, whereas Gabriel has seen some time with the starting offense when healthy. Flacco has long been viewed as the top option, though, and the Browns’ logjam was cleared yesterday with the Kenny Pickett trade. Deshaun Watson, meanwhile, will start the campaign on the reserve/PUP list as expected. That leaves Gabriel and Sanders in place as backup and third-stringer.

“I think you factor in everything, truly,” Stefanski said when speaking to the media about the decision (video link). “We look at it from a bunch of different angles. So, certainly we made the decision and feel comfortable with Dillon serving in that role. It’s such an all-encompassing evaluation… We also saw a lot of them out here in practice and how they are at their craft. [Gabriel is] certainly somebody that we think is getting better and better.”

During his time in college, Gabriel drew praise for his accuracy. The UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon product was even the subject of trade talk one day after he was drafted, with suitors viewing him as a high-floor backup in the NFL. His chance to meet expectations in that role will present itself right away.

Sanders, meanwhile, will find himself on the active roster but he will not need to be on Cleveland’s gameday squad to be able to dress thanks to the current emergency QB rules. Multiple injuries will be required for him to see game action in the regular season.

Andrew Berry Confirms Browns Will Keep Four QBs

Browns general manager Andrew Berry confirmed that all four of the team’s quarterbacks – veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders – would make the 53-man roster, per ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi.

Berry said earlier this summer that the team would consider keeping four quarterbacks and now seems poised to follow through. On Saturday, he called it “not much of a decision.”

“We have a room that we like all the guys in there,” said Berry. “We don’t really see that as a problem. We more see it as an opportunity.”

Cleveland’s quarterback situation has been the subject of intense scrutiny, perhaps more than any other in the league. The two veterans were long seen as the likeliest starters, with Flacco winning the job as Pickett dealt with a hamstring injury throughout training camp. Pickett is still expected to be ready to backup Flacco in Week 1, per Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. Gabriel and Sanders will provide depth, likely in that order, though at least one will be inactive on gamedays.

The focus on The Browns’ 2025 quarterback room comes in spite of signals that the team is planning to prioritize the position in next year’s draft. One such indicator was the acquisition of an extra 2026 first-round pick via the Travis Hunter trade with the Jaguars. Neither Flacco nor Pickett are long-term propositions under center, and the two rookies may not get a chance to establish themselves as future starters this year.

Deshaun Watson is unlikely to regain a starting role in Cleveland, but he’ll still cover more than a quarter of the team’s cap in 2026, per OverTheCap. That could keep the Browns from chasing a veteran in free agency and force them to bet on one of their second-year passers or draft one of the top college quarterback prospects next spring.

Kevin Stefanski: Browns’ Starting QB Decision Coming Soon

One of the NFL’s most closely watched training camp competitions will soon have a winner.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Sunday (via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal) that a decision on the team’s starting quarterback would come “sooner rather than later.” He also offered “the next couple of days” as a rough timeline on two occasions.

[RELATED: Browns Not Planning To Cut One Of Top Four QBs]

The Browns’ quarterback competition has long appeared to be a two-man race between veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. Pickett has been sidelined since late July with a hamstring injury, allowing Flacco to take virtually all of the first-team reps in practice. The 18-year veteran seems to have a commanding lead at this point.

Both of the team’s rookies – third-rounder Dillon Gabriel and fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders – had successful preseason debuts but don’t seem any closer to the starting gig. Both have missed time due to injury this preseason – a recurring theme for the Browns quarterback room – putting them even further behind in the race as they adjust to a new offense at a higher level of competition.

Gabriel recovered from his hamstring injury to start against the Eagles on Saturday, while Sanders performed well against the Panthers on August 8 before suffering an oblique injury earlier this week. The Browns are hopeful Sanders can return for their third preseason game.

Stefanski will need to name a backup quarterback as well. Pickett would be the obvious choice, but if his absence extends into the regular season, one of the rookies will get the QB2 role initially. Gabriel has taken 14 series with the first-team offense in recent weeks, per Easterling, trailing only Flacco (50 first-team series). That would appear to give the former Oregon standout a slight edge, but Sanders can make a push if he gets back on the field for the Browns’ last preseason game next Saturday.

Browns Unlikely To Make QB Roster Cuts

Throughout the offseason, Browns general manager Andrew Berry has publicly stated a willingness to carry four healthy quarterbacks on the regular season roster. As the cutdown deadline looms, it appears Cleveland will indeed take that route.

Rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are safe with respect to making the team’s 53-man roster, although it was recently learned Gabriel was the subject of trade interest immediately after he was drafted. The Oregon product has been ahead of Sanders through the offseason, but he – like Kenny Pickett – has missed time during camp due to a hamstring issue.

As a result of Pickett’s missed time and the inexperience of the Browns’ other options, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot writes Joe Flacco represents the top candidate to begin the season as QB1. It would certainly come as no surprise if the 40-year-old handled starting duties at least early in his second stint with the team, especially with Pickett on the mend. Sanders is dealing with an oblique strain, meanwhile, making it unlikely he suits up for Cleveland’s second preseason contest.

However snaps are handled over the coming weeks, Cabot notes each member of the Flacco-Pickett-Gabriel-Sanders quartet can be expected to survive roster cuts. Deshaun Watson remains in the organization, of course, but as he recovers from a second Achilles tear he is highly unlikely to play in 2025. That leaves recent signing Tyler Huntley in the fold for now, although his return to Cleveland came about in the wake of other injuries under center.

Huntley did not make it to Cleveland’s Week 1 roster during his first stint with the team, and that will no doubt be the case once again in 2025. Even if he is released shortly, however, the Browns’ QB room is set to remain crowded into the fall.

Browns Received Trade Offers For QB Dillon Gabriel; Shedeur Sanders Suffers Injury

Taking the rare step of drafting multiple quarterbacks in the same class, the Browns are in the latter stages of one of the more unusual competitions at the position in modern NFL history. As it stands, Joe Flacco is leading the way.

Even that is rather interesting, seeing as the former Super Bowl MVP is 40 and has not started a season opener as a non-injury fill-in (as he was with the 2022 Jets) since beginning the 2019 season as the Broncos’ starter. Flacco is on track to join Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Vinny Testaverde (Cowboys), Warren Moon (Seahawks), Johnny Unitas (Chargers) and Charlie Conerly (Giants) as QBs to open a season as a starting quarterback at 40 or older. Flacco’s age certainly points to his starter stint not lasting too long, shifting focus to the team’s two rookies.

Both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders‘ rookie contracts run through 2028. The Browns are likely to have both players on their depth chart, barring an IR stay for one of them, behind Flacco to open the season. Gabriel’s future as a backup has also become a talking point, because teams were certainly surprised the Browns traded up for Sanders two rounds after selecting Gabriel. To that point, SI.com’s Albert Breer confirms a report from The Athletic’s Michael Silver that stated the Browns received trade offers for Gabriel soon after trading up for Sanders.

Although post-pick trades can happen in the NFL — as the famous Eli ManningPhilip Rivers swap revealed 21 years ago — those sequences are traditionally confined to the NBA draft. The Browns have rebuffed QB trade inquiries at multiple stops this offseason, as reports in May and June indicated Cleveland was standing pat with its passer room. Those inquiries will likely resurface soon, with this month profiling as a trade window due to the roster crunch that comes each year as teams frantically go from 90 to 53 players.

The Gabriel interest came about from the six-year college QB impressing teams during pre-draft interviews, Breer adds; clubs saw the former Oregon, Central Florida and Oklahoma passer’s floor as that of a long-term backup. It would be interesting to learn what draft capital the Gabriel trade offers featured. Teams clearly saw more in Gabriel, with most draft observers viewing the undersized option as being overdrafted at No. 94. His pre-draft profile differs starkly from Sanders’. The latter entered the process with steady first-round buzz saw his stock crater thanks to a strange interview approach that alienated many teams.

Sanders and Gabriel have each missed time due to injury in training camp. Gabriel has returned to team drills after a hamstring issue sidelined him during Cleveland’s preseason opener, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter notes, but the Browns announced Sanders suffered an oblique injury Wednesday and missed the rest of a joint practice with the Eagles. It is an oblique strain for Sanders, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot notes. He is not expected to play in the Browns’ second preseason contest.

Sanders impressed when given a preseason start, thanks to the team resting Flacco and not having Gabriel or Kenny Pickett available, but his next chance to play will come in the Browns’ preseason finale next week. Pickett has not returned to 11-on-11 work, The Athletic’s Zac Jackson adds, noting Flacco remains in the driver’s seat to start in Week 1.

Pickett has thrown seven-on-seven reps since his injury, however. Gabriel’s return could point him to a start in Philly, per Jackson, who adds Sanders has generally outplayed his 5-foot-11 teammate during camp. The Browns, though, drafted Gabriel first. How these two coexist amid a situation that could remain awkward into the season will be interesting, as Flacco making it through 17 games as the starter will be unlikely.

Browns To Start Shedeur Sanders In Preseason Opener

AUGUST 6: Kevin Stefanski confirmed (via Cabot) the Browns will indeed turn to Sanders to start their preseason opener. It is not yet certain if Huntley will play, Stefanski added (via the Akron Beacon Journal’s Chris Easterling). With Flacco not suiting up and Huntley uncertain, Sanders would stand to see significant game time due to Cleveland’s injury situation.

AUGUST 5: Injuries have stalled the Browns’ four-man quarterback competition. They will lead to an unlikely starter to open Cleveland’s preseason docket.

Shedeur Sanders, who has yet to take a first-team snap during training camp, is expected to start the Browns’ exhibition opener Friday, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports. Recently deemed a long shot to win the starting job, Sanders will receive this opportunity due to injuries sustained by Kenny Pickett and third-rounder Dillon Gabriel.

The Browns will pass on Joe Flacco playing in this game, per Cabot, and they added Tyler Huntley — who spent the 2024 offseason in Cleveland — as another option for this contest. Pickett has acknowledged he is losing ground due to the hamstring injury he sustained, one that has Flacco positioned as the best bet to start in Week 1. The Browns have plenty of intel on Flacco, so holding out their 40-year-old option makes sense.

Sanders’ participation in the game is interesting by itself, as the fifth-round rookie is battling a sore shoulder. It is evidently not a notable enough issue to prompt the Browns to sideline him for their preseason debut against the Panthers. Gabriel joins Pickett in nursing a hamstring injury.

Mentioned for months as a likely first-round pick, Sanders saw his stock nosedive during a pre-draft process he handled poorly. The second-generation NFLer’s attitude alienated teams, and a lower-than-expected football IQ preceded a stunning drop to the fifth round. Sanders arrived two rounds after the Browns chose Gabriel, calling ownership involvement into question. Jimmy Haslam has said GM Andrew Berry made the call to draft Sanders, who was certainly a value add at No. 144. But he has not been deemed a serious threat to open the season as Cleveland’s starter. Two speeding infractions since being drafted also brought unwanted attention to the polarizing prospect.

That said, Sanders has shown improvement since being buried on the depth chart during the Browns’ offseason program. Still, not taking a first-team rep during camp does not point to a likely regular-season starting assignment. Flacco’s age and Pickett’s shaky NFL work to date could open the door for Gabriel or Sanders to make starts at some point, but Gabriel losing time to this hamstring issue does not help his cause.

Sanders’ preseason outing will give him a chance Gabriel now lacks, and it will be interesting to see if the Browns’ view of the two rookies — Gabriel has held an edge on the two-year Colorado starter throughout his short Cleveland stay — heading into the second preseason week.

Browns Sign QB Tyler Huntley

With a few minor injuries hampering their quarterback room, the Browns added some depth on Monday by reuniting with Tyler Huntley, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The move is now official.

Kenny Pickett has been nursing a hamstring injury for the last week, and Dillon Gabriel was limited with a similar issue on Monday, per Schefter. Shedeur Sanders has also been experiencing shoulder soreness, so veteran Joe Flacco entered the day as the team’s only fully healthy passer.

The Browns’ first preseason matchup is scheduled for Friday night in Carolina, and neither Pickett nor Gabriel are expected to play, per Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. The 40-year-old Flacco played all of six preseason snaps last year, and pushing Sanders to play most of the game with a sore shoulder seems like an unnecessary risk.

Enter Huntley, who spent the 2024 offseason and preseason with the Browns but did not make their 53-man roster. He briefly signed with the Ravens’ practice squad before finishing the year with five starts in Miami. His familiarity with the Browns’ offense will allow him to serve as a camp arm and absorb preseason snaps as the rest of the team’s quarterbacks get back to full health.

He is not expected to factor into the starting competition, which has swung back-and-forth between Flacco and Pickett this summer. Though, this does bring about an interesting development due to Cleveland’s crowded depth chart. Huntley has gone from making five starts a Tua Tagovailoa relief — after making a name for himself as a Lamar Jackson fill-in — to being what could amount to a camp body. It will be interesting to see if this reunion amounts to more than that, as Huntley is still just 27 and has made 14 career starts. The Browns had carried him through past waivers last year but ultimately cut bait shortly after. The Cardinals worked out Huntley in April but did not sign him.

Flacco is atop the Browns’ first unofficial depth chart as Pickett’s absence in camp has set him back in his quest to win the starting job, something he acknowledged this weekend.

“I’m trying to get back out there as fast as possible,” said Pickett (via Cabot). “I’ve never had a soft tissue injury like this, so really a first-time experience in my career.” 

The former Steelers first-round pick is still ahead of his rookie teammates, with Gabriel listed as the third-stringer and Sanders behind him. That ranking reflects the snap distribution between the two rookies. Gabriel gets on the field before Sanders and takes more reps, but the latter has been more accurate this summer, according to The Athletic’s Zac Jackson. While neither is expected to start early in the season, Jackson suggested that Sanders’ rapid development could get him on the field later in the year.

Joe Flacco To Take Bulk Of Browns’ First-Team Reps; Shedeur Sanders Highly Unlikely To Win Job

The extraordinarily rare four-man quarterback competition unfolding in Cleveland is ongoing, but adjustments are being made. Kenny Pickett is out with a hamstring injury, giving Joe Flacco a wider runway to reacquire the job.

While Pickett recovers, Kevin Stefanski said (via ESPN.com’s Daniel Oyefusi) Flacco will take the bulk of the first-team reps. Flacco did not take as many offseason reps, but because of his 2023 Browns showing, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer indicates he received what amounted to a first-round bye in this battle ahead of training camp.

Flacco proved he remained a capable starter during a serviceable but unremarkable Colts stint, but his elevating a battered Browns offense to a playoff berth in 2023 carries considerable weight. The Browns are obviously evaluating how a 40-year-old Flacco differs from his 38-year-old version, but with Pickett down, the 18th-year veteran has a chance to impress and start a season opener for the first time since filling in for Zach Wilson in 2022. This would be Flacco’s 14th time earning a Week 1 NFL start.

As Flacco enjoys a strong opportunity to grab the reins, Shedeur Sanders does not look to have a chance at the Week 1 gig. Sanders entered the Browns’ offseason program “far behind” Flacco, Pickett and third-rounder Dillon Gabriel, Breer adds, and is trying to catch up. Sanders received extensive criticism for his strange approach to the pre-draft process, but beyond proving difficult in interviews with teams (as a recruiting-type mentality is believed to have taken place on the QB’s part), Sanders drew attention for being behind from a football knowhow perspective, according to Breer.

The two-year Colorado starter being as far behind as he was during pre-draft meetings surprised some, Breer adds, and he fell into fourth place during the Browns’ offseason workouts due in part to lagging on the football IQ front. To open camp, the first-team reps primarily went to Flacco and Pickett, with Gabriel taking the leftover work. Operating as an inverse option to Sanders thus far, Gabriel has impressed with his football IQ while presenting a less-than-ideal frame (at 5-foot-10) and skillset.

The Browns plan to stop sending out two offensive units simultaneously, a tactic deployed due to the unique four-man QB battle, according to Stefanski. This transition will lead to fewer reps, further increasing Sanders’ degree of difficulty as a developmental option. As it stands, Sanders faces a “Super Bowl LI”-like uphill climb to win the job, Breer concludes, adding he has gained ground since workouts started.

Although Sanders was a much-rumored first-round candidate, falling to fifth for myriad reasons made it unrealistic he would win the Browns’ Week 1 job. Fifth-round rookies are almost never in QB competitions in the first place, making this training camp more of a developmental stage for the second-generation pro.

At the preseason’s conclusion, the Browns will need to decide if they want to carry four quarterbacks — a genuine possibility — on their 53-man roster. Gabriel looks close to a roster lock here, with Sanders the wild card. Pickett’s injury would open a door for the Browns regarding an IR move, as a way to retain both rookies, but it would seem unlikely the team would proceed that way with a player firmly in the mix for the Week 1 job. (The team is not planning to trade one of its rookie arms.) Sanders would need to pass through waivers to reach Cleveland’s practice squad, further complicating the situation.

Jimmy Haslam also fielded a question about Arch Manning this week. While the owner cannot realistically comment on the Browns’ path to the soon-to-be Texas starter, he did voice a belief (via cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot) the QB will stay in school for the 2026 season (kicking the can to the 2027 draft). Haslam mentioned his relationship with the Manning family in offering that prediction.

Even if Manning is unlikely to declare for the 2026 draft, next year is projected to include a much deeper class compared to 2025. The Browns having two first-round picks seemingly came in preparation for that. For now, Gabriel and Sanders continue to make their cases about future duty while the Flacco-Pickett veteran matchup represents the far more likely decider for Week 1 this season.

Browns Rookie QBs Unlikely To Win Starting Gig; Dillon Gabriel Has Slight Edge Over Shedeur Sanders

The Browns’ four-man quarterback battle is slowly coming into focus as we approach training camp. With Deshaun Watson soon headed for the reserve/physically unable to perform or reserve/non-football injury list, The Athletic’s Zac Jackson tells us that he views it as Joe Flacco vs. Kenny Pickett for the starting job to open the season, and Dillon Gabriel vs. Shedeur Sanders for a potential roster spot and place on the depth chart.

Jackson essentially doesn’t believe either rookie has a chance to open the season as the new starting quarterback, saying that he’d “be stunned if either rookie can actually win the job in camp.” In addition to their competition with each other, each rookie is also battling the usual battle of a rookie making the jump from college football to the NFL, learning the playbook and maximizing reps, while trying to improve and outshine the others around them.

This secondary battle is an important one for the Browns to watch, though. Likely, neither Flacco nor Pickett are considered long-term solutions at the most important position in the sport. Flacco is 40 years old, and even if Pickett had a Sam Darnold-esque breakout season, he’s in the final year of his rookie contract after the Browns declined his fifth-year option.

Even if they wanted to re-sign him to a long-term deal off a successful 2025 campaign, Watson’s $80.72MM cap hit in 2026 is going to make that extremely difficult to do. With that cap crunch looming, Cleveland’s best chance is for one of the two passers on rookie deals with rookie cap hits to take over in the future. So, while the Browns have the important job of preparing Flacco and Pickett to open the 2025 season as a starter, they also have the very important job of making sure one or both of Gabriel and Sanders can either be ready to start later on in the season or even next year.

In that battle, so far, Jackson posits that Gabriel has the early edge over Sanders. Gabriel got starter snaps in the spring, while Sanders’s recent run-ins with the law have not dispelled rumors of immaturity. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com tends to agree with Jackson on this point, claiming that “Gabriel has at least a slight edge over Sanders to make a legitimate push for the starting job.”

She praised Gabriel’s “computer-like processing speed and decision-making,” saying that he “looked solid and held his own…Thanks to his quick grasp of the terminology and playbook.” When Gabriel signed his rookie deal, we noted that he may hold such an advantage after having to learn three different offenses under eight different coordinators in time at UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon while always working in a spread system that feeds off of quick decision-making.

We also noted that Sanders, on the other hand, has been coached by his father at every step towards the NFL since high school. While he, too, worked with several (four) coordinators and actually saw time in run-and-shoot and air raid schemes in addition to spread, ultimately, Gabriel had much more experience coming into a new place under new leadership and taking over with near-immediate success than Sanders did. That analysis seems to be holding true as both reporters see Gabriel quickly finding his footing in Cleveland.

Ultimately, Cabot doesn’t agree with Jackson that a roster spot is on the line; she believes both rookies will make the final 53-man roster, which we touched on, as well, considering that putting either rookie on the practice squad would expose them to the waiver wire first. For now, on the surface and in their own mentality, the rookies will be pushing to compete for the starting job at the open of training camp. In reality, the two have a much more important, long-term battle to contend with that could shape the future of the Browns organization.

QB Joe Flacco Has Support From Browns Veterans

With Deshaun Watson looking like a long shot to play in the 2025 NFL season at all, veteran quarterback Joe Flacco is emerging as the favorite to open the season as the Browns’ starting quarterback when they host the Bengals in Week 1. The coaches are starting to feel that way, but he’s getting support from some veteran teammates, as well, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

Per Cabot, when the Browns traded for Kenny Pickett early in the offseason, they had visions of the 27-year-old blossoming into a breakout star à la Sam Darnold. Throughout the spring, though, Flacco seemed to prove more capable of a starting role. The 40-year-old veteran shined as the “best pure thrower” of the football out of the four active passers on the roster, including rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.

That arm, combined with “his intimate knowledge of (head) coach Kevin Stefanski‘s offense,” has put Flacco securely in the lead for the starting job at the moment. That experience saw him go 4-1 late in the 2023 season as a starter and lead the Browns to the postseason for only the second time in the 20 years prior. Gabriel and Sanders haven’t been ruled out as potential Week 1 starters yet, but Cabot posits that they stand a much better chance of earning starting time later in the season.

It’s not just the coaches who see the experience and talent of Flacco, he “has the full support of big-time veterans such as All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett,” as well. Before agreeing to an extension this offseason, Garrett expressed interest in playing for a playoff contender elsewhere in large part due to the team’s handling of the quarterback position. As a result, his endorsement of Flacco speaks volumes, along with the support of other veterans.

Elsewhere in the competition, we learned a bit more on Sanders’ driving history recently. After initially reporting on a speeding incident in mid-June that saw the 23-year-old cited at 101 mph on a 60-mph road, we saw ESPN (in conjunction with the Associated Press) report that this was the second such speeding incident Sanders had been involved in that month. Reports show that Sanders was pulled over on June 5 for going 91 mph in a 65-mph zone.

Sanders, reportedly, “failed to appear for an arraignment for that citation and faces $269 in fines and court costs” as a result. He faces a $250 fine for his most recent citation, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. His second ticket was received as he was pulled over alongside his girlfriend, who was driving 92 mph in a separate car. Despite the two traveling together at high speeds in separate vehicles, reports claim that there is “no suggestion that the two may have been racing,” according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports.

Following an unprecedented draft slide that resulted from character concerns for the Colorado alumnus, speeding incidents are not a great sign of development early in his professional career. Repeated offenses look even worse for the young passer, and if any suggestions of racing do emerge from his driving citations, things could go from bad to worse.