CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback room is a fascinating laboratory experiment this offseason. Four signal-callers, each representing different career stages and skill sets, are battling for what will likely be three roster spots. It’s a high-stakes gamble with no easy answers, as the team navigates a post-Deshaun Watson reality while keeping an eye on the future.
In a recent episode of the Orange and Brown Talk podcast, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot offered insight into which quarterback might become the odd man out.
“If Kenny Pickett turns out to be what they believe he can be, then I think that there’s a chance that perhaps someone comes calling for Joe Flacco, some team that loses their quarterback in the first week or the second week,” Cabot said, highlighting how Flacco’s veteran status could make him expendable if Pickett performs well.
The most intriguing aspect is that third-round pick Dillon Gabriel appears to be the only lock for a roster spot. As Dan Labbe noted, “Dillon Gabriel, though, interestingly, at this point, it almost seems like as sure a thing as there is to make this roster in that quarterback room, just because they did use the third round pick on him.”
This leaves Pickett, Flacco, and fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders competing for the remaining spots, with each offering something different. Flacco brings a cannon arm and championship experience. Pickett offers untapped potential after a stunted start in Pittsburgh. Sanders brings the highest ceiling of the group, according to Labbe.
“I think he’s the most interesting of the four. Just in the way of like the ceiling that I can see on Shedeur Sanders,” Labbe said during the podcast.
What makes this competition particularly compelling is how it connects to the Browns’ future draft plans. Even if one of these quarterbacks performs admirably in 2025, the team appears poised to select a quarterback early in the 2026 draft.
“They’d have to show an awful lot because they are poised to go out and draft almost a slam dunk, surefire franchise quarterback next year with what they have available to them,” Cabot explained, setting an extraordinarily high bar for any of the current quarterbacks to clear.
This creates a fascinating dynamic where the quarterbacks aren’t just competing against each other, but against the Browns’ future plans. Even strong performance might not be enough to prevent the team from selecting a quarterback in the first round next year.
The Browns will get their first extended look at all four quarterbacks during OTAs and minicamp practices, but as Cabot pointed out, practice performance only tells part of the story.
“Any number of these guys might look amazing in 7-on-7s in training camp and in 11-on-11s in training camp and even in the preseason games. But none of that is really going to matter. What matters is how do you perform in the game in the heat of the moment,” she explained.
With an early-season schedule loaded with formidable defenses, whoever emerges as the starter will face an immediate baptism by fire. And if history is any indication, Cleveland fans should prepare to see multiple starting quarterbacks in 2025 as the team navigates this transitional season.
