The Cleveland Browns have four quarterbacks participating in their competition to be named the Week 1 starter. Right now, it appears that Joe Flacco is the favorite to begin the season under center, but that could change throughout the year.
Outside of Flacco, the Browns have Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel. Deshaun Watson is also still on the roster, although it would be a surprise if he takes another snap in Cleveland.
A lot of talk has been swirling about Sanders. The fifth round pick has looked solid early on and was one of the most hyped up players ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft. Could he find playing time during his rookie season?
While there are some who have suggested that Sanders could win the starting job to open the season, he has received a brutal new update and prediction.
Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports did not hold back in his look at the Browns’ quarterback room. He only gave Sanders a one percent chance to start in Week 1.
“Sanders could end up starting at some point late in his rookie season because the Browns seem like a team that could end up starting four different quarterbacks in a rough season,” Schwab wrote. “But make no mistake, Sanders has a long way to go before he gets on the field for the Browns.”
Who does he think will be the Week 1 starter in Cleveland? He gave Flacco a 50 percent chance of earning the job. Behind Flacco, he had Pickett at 40 percent and Gabriel at nine percent.
Sanders has a lot of work to do, there is no denying that. However, he has looked more like an NFL quarterback so far this offseason than Gabriel, who was the Browns’ third-round pick.
That isn’t to say that he’ll be higher on the depth chart than Gabriel to begin the season. No one knows what head coach Kevin Stefanski and company will choose to do with their quarterback room.
It will be interesting to see how the competition looks when training camp and preseason action kick off. Fans will be watching each quarterback very closely leading up to the 2025 season.
Even though Sanders isn’t being given much of a chance to begin the season as the starter, his main goal should be to end it in that position.
