It was quite the fall for Kevin Stefanski’s club this past season. The Cleveland Browns finished 11-6 and in second place in the AFC North in 2023, earning a playoff berth. They managed that feat despite utilizing five different starting quarterbacks, including veteran Joe Flacco.
Stefanski copped NFL Coach of the Year honors, and Flacco was the league’s Comeback Player of the Year. Irony of ironies, the latter is now back with the Browns after a season with the Colts. He’s one of four quarterbacks on Cleveland’s roster that were not with the team in 2024.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski has his work cut for him this season
While Deshaun Watson remains with the Browns, and Flacco returns, there are three other newcomers. Of course, there’s Kenny Pickett, a first-round draft choice of the Steelers in 2022 who was traded to the Eagles in 2024, and then acquired from the Birds this offseason.
Then there’s the rookie duo of Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, via the University of Oregon and the University of Colorado, respectively. The former was a third-round pick, the latter a fifth-round selection. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky had some thoughts on what Stefanski should do with the two prospects.
"If I was the Browns I would do everything that I can to start Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 13, 2025
I would start one of those two rookies to figure out what their Quarterback situation looks like long term" ~ @danorlovsky7 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/TN8ssmIerR
First things first. Just how many quarterbacks do the Browns intend to keep this year? Common sense seems to indicate that Flacco will start the season, given his success in a limited time with Stefanski back in 2023. Both Gabriel and Sanders are intriguing prospects. It’s interesting to note that if you use NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein’s scouting reports as a guide, Gabriel was selected a lot higher than projected (Rounds 4-5), and Sanders slipped to Round 5 after it was thought he would go on Day 1.
So why not? Why not see how much both of these rookies have sooner than later? It would certainly be standard fare for an organization that since returning to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999 has utilized an astounding 40 different starting quarterbacks. Could that number actually reach 43 in 2025?