The Cleveland Browns' quarterback room is easily the most crowded in the league heading into 2025 after drafting Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, trading for Kenny Pickett and signing Joe Flacco — and that's not counting the injured Deshaun Watson.
Despite falling all the way to fifth-round, many believe the job will eventually be Sanders'. However according to The MMQB's Albert Breer, it's a veteran who's currently in "pole position" to land the team's starting job.
"My sense is that Joe Flacco is going to take the first snap in the spring, which there's some significance to that," Breer said of the 40-year-old Super Bowl champ.
"I think [Steelers coach] Mike Tomlin called it pole position last year when he was talking about his own quarterback situation. I think Joe Flacco has pole position here."
Even though Flacco is expected to get the starting reps at OTAs and minicamp, the SI insider says he can see a scenario where Kenny Pickett eventually takes the lead.
"The guarantees in Joe Flacco's deal and Kenny Pickett's deal are almost identical to one another," Breer explained. "So, walking away from either guy would more or less have the same penalty."
"So, even though Joe Flacco gets the first snap in the spring, that doesn't mean, like, Kenny Pickett won't get the first snap in the summer or that Joe Flacco is gonna make the team if Kenny Pickett wins the job," he added.
There's no way the Browns are going to keep five QBs on the roster — and with his exorbitant dead money cap hit, Watson is going to be safe (for now).
So that'll leave Flacco, Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders battling it out for roster spots until the organization's 53-man takes shape. And given Flacco's experience and professionalism, it's a safe bet that he'll get first cracks at being Cleveland's QB1.
Insider explains why Browns could make Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett decision before 2025 season
It seems unlikely that veteran Joe Flacco, 2022 first-round draft choice Kenny Pickett, 2025 third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and 2025 fifth-round selection Shedeur Sanders will all be on the Cleveland Browns roster when the regular season gets underway in September.
During a Tuesday appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show," NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated indicated either Flacco or Pickett will be the odd man out once the competition for Cleveland's starting job wraps up later this summer.
"The guarantees in Joe Flacco's deal and Kenny Pickett's deal are almost identical to one another," Breer explained, as shared by Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report. "So walking away from either guy would more or less have the same penalty. So even though Joe Flacco gets the first snap in the spring, that doesn't mean, like, Kenny Pickett won't get the first snap in the summer or that Joe Flacco is gonna make the team if Kenny Pickett wins the job."
While Cleveland acquired Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles before the club re-signed Flacco, the one-time Super Bowl champion is the only active signal-caller on the roster who has had success playing under head coach Kevin Stefanski. Flacco became a Cleveland cult hero when he went 4-1 as a starter to guide the 2023 Browns to the playoffs, and Breer seems to believe the 40-year-old will head into training camp penciled in atop Cleveland's depth chart.
"My sense is that Joe Flacco is going to take the first snap in the spring, which there's some significance to that," Breer added during the interview. "I think [Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin] called it pole position last year when he was talking about his own quarterback situation. I think Joe Flacco has pole position here."
For an article published on Wednesday morning, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler pointed out that the Browns will be open to trading a quarterback "if injuries happen across the league" before the preseason comes to an end. Cleveland grabbed Gabriel during the draft at pick No. 94, and the Browns later traded up to select Sanders with choice No. 144.
History suggests Cleveland won't discard either rookie after just one camp, so it sounds like Flacco or Pickett will be shown the door before Labor Day as long as both Gabriel and Sanders stay healthy.
