As the Cleveland Browns begin OTAs and ramp up toward training camp, all eyes are on the team's comically overstuffed quarterback room. The Browns took every avenue to address the QB void this offseason, signing Joe Flacco as a free agent, trading for Kenny Pickett and drafting not one, but two quarterbacks in third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders.
Never has such a mediocre collection of players inspired so much discourse and national attention. It's unclear if any of these guys are up for the task of running an NFL offense next season, but the mix of experience, youth and media spotlight sure makes for a fascinating cocktail.
Sanders obviously comes in with more buzz than your standard fifth-round pick. He's the all-time NCAA D-I leader in completion percentage. He is also, if you weren't aware, Deion Sanders' son. That Colorado media circus has transferred seamlessly to the mean streets of Cleveland, which puts added pressure not only on Sanders, but on the Browns' entire QB collective.
Flacco is the wisened vet. The 40-year-old has 17 NFL seasons under his belt and a Super Bowl ring to his name. That gives him a certain stature in the quarterback room. More than a favorite to start Week 1, Flacco is a great mentor figure for a young quarterback that's hungry to learn, such as Sanders.
Just don't ask him if he's a mentor.
Joe Flacco rejects 'mentor' label as Browns QB battle heats up
When asked if he's willing to mentor the Browns' young quarterbacks, Flacco offered a deep and genuine response. He said that there is communication within the QB room, and that he has knowledge and perspective to offer the likes of Sanders or Gabriel, but that it is also "not his job" to make sure they listen to him. Flacco is here to compete for a starting role and win football games. He leaves any learning up to the rookies.
It's great to see genuine responses like this from a player with Flacco's pedigree, but naturally the narrative will twist and turn, just as he predicts. Flacco isn't saying he's not a mentor, but he is saying, effectively, that it's on the rooks, like Sanders, to absorb information and take his wisdom to heart. Flacco won't go out of his way to help Sanders along.
That complicates the QB battle, as Flacco has so much more on his resume than his main competitors. He also appears to be performing well at OTAs, as ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi reports that Flacco "operated the offense the best" at Wednesday's practice. Sanders, meanwhile, "got the fewest reps but was efficient, especially in red zone drills."
It's unclear which Browns quarterback has the edge in this race. While Flacco brings experience (and he's probably the "best" option in a vacuum), there has been a lot of buzz around Kenny Pickett, whom the Browns clearly believe in. Sanders appears to be the top-performing rookie, but Gabriel is receiving more reps and he was taken two rounds earlier, so the Colorado product faces an uphill battle for even third-string billing.
Flacco has long been clear about his desire to compete and win football games. He does not view himself as a bridge quarterback or a teacher, but as a legitimate NFL starter. In fairness, he has largely earned that right. Let's see how that impacts Cleveland's QB hierarchy and the development arc of the rookies below him in the pecking order.