Shedeur Sanders and Joe Flacco appear to be the frontrunners in the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback competition. However, head coach Kevin Stefanski has three other options available and must give each a fair share of reps to determine who will lead the offense.
The Browns find themselves in an unusual situation this offseason. At the start, Deshaun Watson was the only quarterback on the roster. Fast forward a few weeks, and Cleveland now has five signal-callers to choose from.
The AFC North team must eventually trim that number down to three for the start of the 2025 NFL season. That means the coming months will be crucial, with all five quarterbacks competing for a spot on the final 53-man roster.
HC Kevin Stefanski unveils how he’ll manage QB reps this offseason
Earlier this year, the Browns retained only Deshaun Watson from their 2024 quarterback room. They then added Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco to bolster the position heading into 2025, but things shifted during the NFL Draft.
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Cleveland selected both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, bringing the total to five quarterbacks. Naturally, the Browns will have to part ways with at least two of them before the regular season begins.
NFL teams typically carry three quarterbacks during the season, so training camp and the preseason will be key in determining who stays and who goes.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns plan to begin the offseason workouts with Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel taking most of the first- and second-team reps. However, Kevin Stefanski has clarified that all quarterbacks—including Joe Flacco and Shedeur Sanders—will get the necessary opportunities to showcase their skills. Rather than splitting reps evenly (25% each), the coaching staff will distribute them based on evaluation needs.
Shedeur Sanders was drafted by the Cleveland Browns at 144th overall
“The big thing for us is making sure we give the guys enough reps that they need,” Stefanski said on ESPN Cleveland. “Making sure that they have enough — It’s twofold. They’re learning the system, they’re developing and we’re evaluating them. We’re finding out about them. It’s not going to be everybody gets 25 percent of the reps, that’s not how it’s gonna be. We want to give everybody enough reps where we can learn more about them and prepare them to get ready to play.”
When does the preseason start for the Cleveland Browns?
The Browns open their 2025 preseason schedule on August 8 with a road game against the Carolina Panthers. They’ll then travel to Lincoln Financial Field to face the Philadelphia Eagles on August 16.
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Their final preseason game will be at home on August 23 against the Los Angeles Rams. By then, the Browns are expected to have made a final decision on who will be the starting quarterback when the 2025 NFL season kicks off.
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