The Cleveland Browns are all over the place at quarterback, and each practice session brings with it the potential for one of four competitors for the starting job to stand out above the others.
Kenny Pickett and rookie Dillon Gabriel — whom the team recently named as the Nos. 1 and 2 QBs on the OTA depth chart, respectively — have both already had such moments early in the preseason. On Wednesday, June 4, fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders had another moment of his own that had him trending on social media platforms.
“When you watch all the clips of Shedeur Sanders, you see why his tape said he was a 1st Round QB,” analyst and former NFL QB Robert Griffin III wrote online. “He plays with NFL timing and rhythm, reads with his feet, plays ahead of the defense, has more than enough arm strength and he knows how to layer the ball 🔥.”
Shedeur Sanders Beginning to Get Steam as Possible Starting QB for Browns at Some Point in 2025
Several others took to X with praise for Sanders following the video release of his bullet touchdown pass during OTA work on Wednesday.
“It’s going to quickly become obvious to everyone that Shedeur Sanders is the best QB on the Browns’ roster,” Scott Proctor, who covers the Colorado Buffaloes for DNVR, posted to X.
“Shedeur Sanders reportedly ‘stole the show’ once again at Browns OTAs today. Sanders’ precision, timing and accuracy have reportedly been ‘as advertised’ through a few practices now,” the NFL Rookie Watch X account wrote. “Today, Sanders reportedly went 9/14 (64%), for 100+ passing yards, 3 passing TDs, and 1 INT (off of a tipped-pass). One source close to the situation reportedly believes Sanders will ‘close the case’ fairly easily once he receives a consistent shot with the first team.”
“Shedeur Sanders may not be 4th on the QB depth chart for long. #Browns,” a fan account wrote.
Joe Flacco Predicted to Begin Season as Browns Starting QB
Sanders is facing an uphill battle after dropping from the first round all the way to the fifth round in late April. Because of that, and because Cleveland added two veteran QBs during the offseason, Sanders is unlikely to begin the season as the starter.
Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus (PFF) predicted on June 2 that Joe Flacco will end up getting the nod for the Browns in Week 1. Flacco returns to Cleveland after a 4-1 stint to end the 2023 regular season. He the team to the playoffs, where it lost in the first round to the Houston Texans.
The Browns were horrendous under center last season, which PFF outlined, and either Flacco or Sanders can arguably offer meaningful improvement.
“The Browns’ 2024 offense was hard to watch. The group ranked dead last in PFF grade (62.1) and EPA per play (-0.207),” Chadwick and Wasserman wrote. “Cleveland still has no clear answer at quarterback, arguably the worst receiving corps in the league and an aging offensive line that earned the fourth-worst PFF grade in 2024 (59.8). It’s hard to get much worse, but the Browns’ offense still has a bleak outlook for 2025.”
