The Cleveland Browns are setting the stage for a four-way quarterback competition battle with veterans Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
The team will run two passing camps during team activities into mandatory minicamp and possibly into training camp, per Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.
The drills will likely be broken up into Pickett and Gabriel No. 1 and No. 2 and Flacco and Sanders No. 3 and No. 4 based on how they were acquired, per Cabot.
In regard to Flacco and Sanders sharing the third and fourth reps, Sanders may occasionally take the first reps, but Flacco’s 17 years of NFL experience give him a firm grasp of the system, per Cabot. Meanwhile, Sanders needs every snap he can get to learn the offense, build timing with his receivers and adjust to the speed of the pro game.
The Browns open their season on Sept. 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals and are determined to start on a stronger note than last year’s collapse.
Cleveland kicked off its season with a 1-6 record in 2024 behind Deshaun Watson, who returned from a shoulder injury but struggled to regain form. The team never recovered, ultimately finishing 3-14.
According to Cabot, the Browns are high on fourth-year quarterback Pickett, viewing him as a potential reclamation project in the mold of Sam Darnold or Jared Goff—a talented but inconsistent starter who blossoms in a second or third opportunity.
