It’s incredibly rare to see an NFL team head into training camp with a 4-man quarterback competition, but that’s exactly what the Cleveland Browns are doing as they take a strength-by-numbers approach to officially put the Deshaun Watson era in the rearview mirror.
With two veterans and two rookies in the mix, it’s unclear how things will shake out, but one former Brown recently raved about one of those rookies after minicamp.
Former offensive lineman Jason Pinkston stopped by Afternoon Drive on 92.3 The Fan on Monday and said that he is a big fan of Shedeur Sanders and was impressed with some of the throws he made in camp, though he also noted that all the QBs performed well.
“I do like Shedeur. I saw him throw some balls into some windows and it was like, ‘wow’. He throws a really nice football. But, all the guys did well,” Pinkston said.
“I do like Shedeur. I saw him throw some balls into some windows and it was like, ‘wow’. He throws a really nice football. But, all the guys did well.”
🏈 @JasonPinkstonOL to @NickWilsonSays and @JPeterlin on what he saw from the #Browns QBs⤵️
🔊 Listen: https://t.co/Dg9U3aRNMM pic.twitter.com/RRplXjMbY9
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) June 16, 2025
It’s no surprise that all the quarterbacks performed well in a minicamp with no pads on, but fans will take any good news they can get after this offense scored a league-worst 15.2 points per game last season and gave up a league-high 66 sacks.
The first half of Cleveland’s schedule in 2025 is brutal, so it’s likely that Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett will open the season as the starter before potentially giving way to one of the rookies after the Week 9 bye.
That’s the proper approach, because it would be malpractice to put a third or fifth-round rookie behind an offensive line that just gave up 66 sacks, especially when facing a bunch of playoff teams from last year.
Cleveland is being mum about the specifics of this QB competition, which is admirable, because the Shedeur Sanders hype train and media circus are already out of control, even with him being fourth on the depth chart.
He needs time to learn and develop in silence, and that’s exactly what the Browns are trying to do.
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Former Player Says Browns Rookie Has Been ‘Very Impressive’