The Cleveland Browns are in a unique position with four intriguing quarterbacks on their roster in Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders, a quartet that doesn’t include Deshaun Watson, whose tenure is all but over after tearing his Achilles twice.
It’s only June, and it’s still anybody’s guess who will be the starter in Week 1, and one insider has a major question about the situation in general and how the team has gone about building out this QB room.
Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto recently wrote an article that questioned if there is any chance for one of the rookies to start early in the season.
“[Joe] Flacco and [Kenny] Pickett are veterans. [Dillon] Gabriel (third-round pick) and [Shedeur] Sanders (fifth round) are rookies. The Browns’ first six opponents had a combined 71-31 record last season. The Browns were 3-14 in 2024. Does it make sense to run a low-round rookie QB through that early schedule?” Pluto wrote.
Cleveland’s first eight opponents before its Week 9 bye are brutal, so all signs are pointing towards either Flacco or Pickett opening the season as the starter.
Even if the early-season schedule looked easy, starting a third or fifth-round rookie QB in Week 1 is exceedingly rare in the NFL.
Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders need some time to marinate and learn behind the veterans, and if things go poorly, after Week 9 would be the ideal time to make a switch if one of them looks ready for the job.
It’s unfortunate that a last-place finish in 2024 somehow resulted in the Browns having such a rough schedule in 2025, but that’s life in the NFL, and pressure builds diamonds.
There’s still plenty of time for the QB situation to get sorted out, but it would be a surprise if one of the rookies won the job outright.
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