Of the four men competing for the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback job, only three will make the team, possibly only two. Through the first nine practices of NFL training camp, we have seen some degree of separation between the best and the rest. Right now, it feels like the ageless Joe Flacco's job to lose, but he is being pressed by Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and Shedeur Sanders.
Flacco is the only one of the four quarterbacks who has had any real success in the league. Pickett largely busted after two years in Pittsburgh, while Gabriel and Sanders are in their rookie seasons out of Oregon and Colorado, respectively. It should be noted that Pickett has missed some practices with a hamstring issue, while Sanders did miss one practice on account of arm soreness. This all matters!
So through the first nine training camp practices, here are the numbers tied to each quarterback.
- Joe Flacco: 54-of-92 passing, three touchdowns, no interceptions
- Shedeur Sanders: 49-of-79 passing, six touchdowns, no interceptions
- Dillon Gabriel: 62-of-113 passing, four touchdowns, two interceptions
- Kenny Pickett: 23-of-34 passing, three touchdowns, one interceptions
If you need a bit of a visual, ESPN Cleveland has you covered on this one-of-a-kind quarterback race.
The Browns are off tomorrow. Here’s how all 4 QBs have performed through 9 training camp practices.
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) August 2, 2025
Kenny Pickett has not done team drills since last week due to a hamstring. Shedeur Sanders missed one practice of team reps with arm soreness. pic.twitter.com/4AezmRgJQV
To me, Flacco is a lock to make this team, Sanders probably will, with Gabriel and Pickett on the fence.
Dillon Gabriel feels like the odd man out to make the Cleveland Browns
Flacco's stats, precision and big-game experience speak for themselves. He is going to make this team and be the Browns' Week 1 starter. Unless he gets hurt or really struggles in preseason action, I would be stunned if anyone else leads Cleveland out of the tunnel in Week 1. I may be rooting hard for Sanders, but it is apparent that he is making the most of his training camp reps with the Browns here.
He may not be taking the most high-end reps, but the fifth-round pick out of Colorado is showing all the things that made him special at Boulder, and at Jackson State before that. Punting on Sanders after what he has shown in training camp would be a disservice to the guy. As for Gabriel and Pickett, I could go either way. I am not high on either, but both are not going to make the Browns this season.
Even though Pickett is a bust who cannot throw the ball down the field with any confidence, him being out for at least three practices have inadvertently exposed Gabriel for what he is. Simply put, Gabriel is too small, too erratic and simply not precise enough to be a quality quarterback in this league. The Browns' staff have asked him to throw the ball a ton, out of necessity, but he is not blowing us all away.
Ultimately, I can envision a scenario in which both Pickett and Sanders back up Flacco to start the season. Sanders is a bit too green to start, in my estimation. At least with Pickett, we know that he can. When it comes to Gabriel, it serves the Browns to recoup something, anything, on their back third-round investment. He can be of value to many teams in the league, but just not with Cleveland.
Right now, I am holding my Flacco stock, buy more of Sanders, and selling off Gabriel and Pickett lots.