The Cleveland Browns are positioned to have perhaps the most interesting quarterback competition in the NFL heading into the 2025 season, with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders all on the roster to effectively wipe the organization’s hands clean of the Deshaun Watson era.
It’s only June, and there is still plenty of time for this situation to sort itself out, though one insider recently predicted which quarterback he believes will be the starter to begin the season.
During The Ken Carman Show on Monday, ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler stopped by to share his takes on the Browns’ QB battle, and he believes Flacco will be the starter in training camp.
“If I had to guess, it would be Joe Flacco. Talking to people there, he’s still the best thrower they have on the roster. He’s really well-liked there. He knows the system, at least to a degree. I would still think Flacco right now. I thought that coming into it. It hasn’t really changed in my mind unless I’m surprised or something shifts,” Fowler said.
Fans are excited about the rookies, but it would be malpractice to start a third or fifth-round rookie in Week 1 behind an offensive line that gave up 66 sacks last season for a 3-14 team that featured the worst offense in the NFL.
If Cleveland has any intention of potentially making either rookie the long-term solution at quarterback, it needs to be patient and let things play themselves out.
The first eight games of Cleveland’s season before the Week 9 bye are brutal and include matchups against teams that won at least eight games last season.
Flacco or Pickett makes the most sense to handle that early gauntlet, and if things aren’t going well by the bye week, that would be a sensible time to give one of the rookies a look.
Cleveland needs to find out if any of these QBs can be the solution ahead of the 2026 draft since the team has a pair of first-round picks next year in a loaded QB class, so it’s entirely possible all four will get an extended look at some point.
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