A recent report named veteran Joe Flacco and rookie Shedeur Sanders as standout performers in the Cleveland Browns’ QB competition, edging ahead of first-year pro Dillon Gabriel and 2024 Philadelphia Eagles backup Kenny Pickett at minicamp.
However, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot revealed during the latest edition of the “Orange and Brown Talk Podcast” that Cleveland is “trending toward” naming Pickett its Week 1 starter regardless of what national media members are saying about the situation.
“That’s not what Browns fans want to hear right now,” Cabot acknowledged. “They want to hear that it’s between Joe Flacco and Shedeur Sanders and those two are going to be the front-runners because Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel aren’t necessarily the sexy names in this quarterback competition.”
FanDuel Sportsbook has repeatedly listed Flacco as the betting favorite (+110 odds) to win Cleveland’s Week 1 starting job over Pickett (+200), Gabriel (+500) and Sanders (+700). That’s understandable considering Flacco is the only one of the four who has experience and has enjoyed success playing in the offense run by Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. Under Stefanski, Flacco helped the 2023 Browns reach the playoffs.
That said, Browns general manager Andrew Berry liked Pickett enough to send backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick to the Eagles for the 27-year-old’s services in March. Thus, it’s unlikely Berry and Stefanski would drop Pickett down the depth chart before training camp sessions get underway in late July.
The Browns open the upcoming season with games versus the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. Dan Labbe of the Cleveland Plain Dealer suggested Pickett could find himself playing for his job over those four matchups if Cabot is correct.
“Let’s say you go out and Kenny Pickett is just OK, and you’re like 1-3,” Labbe said during the podcast. “How do you kind of keep this locker room engaged? How do you keep (pass-rusher) Myles Garrett happy? How do you keep (guard) Joel Bitonio happy? Because these guys are looking over and seeing Joe Flacco sitting there.”
Neither Cabot nor Labbe seems to think Sanders has much of a chance to get the nod for Cleveland’s Week 1 contest versus Cincinnati. Perhaps getting in some extra work during the Browns’ summer break could help Sanders close the supposed gap in the competition before he and others report for training camp.
