Cleveland Browns rookies report for training camp Friday.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, who says he is relishing the challenge, will have a four-day head start on veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett in a roster struggle that has everybody talking.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski has claimed he could keep all four going into the season, which would be an extremely unusual move in the NFL.
It is hard to put anything past the Browns, especially in the context of a desperate scramble to escape from the $230 million nightmare Deshaun Watson‘s contract caused the franchise.
But Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer thinks that in reality, the clock is ticking for Stefanski to start trimming the fat — starting with his bloated QB room.
The Browns fans the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers in the first six weeks of the season.
Five of those teams made the playoffs in 2024 and Joe Burrow‘s Bengals were in the Super Bowl three years ago.
For Breer, that means it is time to find out who will be under center and focus valuable practice reps on that man.
“There’s no soft landing in September through which the Browns can keep working their quarterback situation out. Time is short. Reps in camp will be valuable,” he wrote.
Breer thinks that all four quarterbacks will be given a shot early before the room gets thinned out.
“To that end, you’ll probably be able to see where things stand early on. Flacco will be in the running,” he added. “Pickett almost certainly will be, too.
“Gabriel showed an ability to process and great feel for the position, and looked improved in how fast he was playing early on—plus adds some athletic ability. How often his size shows up in 11-on-11 will be key. And Sanders was behind the pack to start, but worked to catch up and will have to continue earning his reps.
“I’d guess Stefanski and (offensive coordinator Tommy) Rees will want to narrow the competition early on, just to get the other guys on offense more work with quarterbacks who are truly in the running to lead the team as it navigates that brutal early schedule.”
It is likely that the Browns go with a veteran to start the season and consider a replacement around the Week 9 bye depending on how the campaign is going. Flacco fever is very much still a thing in Cleveland and could hand him the edge.
That would give Sanders and Gabriel time to develop, although an alternative path has been suggested for the former.
Dawg Pound Daily’s Mark Sipos thinks the Buffalo Bills should turn to Hall of Famer Deion Sanders‘ son as a backup for 2024 MVP Josh Allen.
“Josh Allen is locked in as the starter, and Mitchell Trubisky is back as the veteran backup,” he said. “But behind them, there’s room for a developmental quarterback.
“Sanders would be a low-risk, high-upside addition who could sit behind Allen, learn in a structured offense, and grow without pressure.
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“Buffalo’s staff could work on refining his timing and decision-making while giving him a stable environment to develop in the background.”
Many of the best quarterbacks sat their first seasons.
Tom Brady only took over from Drew Bledsoe due to a horrow injury, while Patrick Mahomes won the job with some Week 17 fireworks that stunned Travis Kelce in his rookie campaign — his first-ever start.
But in today’s NFL, more and more passers are thrown in at the deep end.
No.1 pick Cam Ward is a virtual lock to play Week 1, just like Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels a year previous.
But Sanders told franchises he was coming to be the man, so staying on the Browns and fighting his way up the depth chart might be his best option.
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