The Cleveland Browns put head coach Kevin Stefanski and staff in a bit of an unenviable position ahead of the 2025 NFL Season.
After adding both veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett earlier in the offseason, the Browns quadrupled down in their investment at quarterback, selecting former Oregon star Dillon Gabriel and later stopping former Colorado standout Shedeur Sanders’ slide in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Now with four quarterbacks on the active roster, plus Deshaun Watson on the payroll while rehabilitating a ruptured Achilles tendon, there aren’t nearly enough practice reps to go around either to prepare a starter, conduct an open competition for the starting job, or dedicate to developing a single rookie quarterback.
So it goes, in Cleveland.
Cleveland Browns’ Biggest Offseason Question Revealed
CBS Sports NFL analyst Cody Benjamin put together a list of the biggest questions facing each team across the NFL, including asking aloud “What on Earth is the plan at quarterback” for the Browns?
“Throw everything against the wall and see what sticks,” Benjamin writes for CBS. “Which isn’t entirely unfair given the Deshaun Watson hole from which they’re still trying to emerge. Still, it’s anyone’s guess which of Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders will start games and/or remain on the roster throughout 2025.”
View this post on Instagram
Perhaps the biggest reason carrying four quarterbacks is problematic is that the Browns own two first-round picks in next spring’s 2026 NFL Draft, thanks to a blockbuster trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and would ideally use this regular season to evaluate whether Cleveland’s best path forward is drafting one of the top quarterbacks in a strong class such as Drew Allar or Arch Manning.
Cleveland hasn’t exactly been a bastian of quarterback development throughout the history of the franchise, but by loading up on four signal callers this offseason, the Browns just might be undercutting their ability to evaluate their future at the position, especially for as long as either Flacco or Pickett are the starters this fall.
For More Football News:
Follow Matt Lombardo on Threads at @MattLombardoNFL. To read more of our articles and in-depth NFL coverage, click here.
