Browns’ QB Competition Down to 2 Contenders, Neither one Shedeur Sanders: Report originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Cleveland Browns are ostensibly entering training camp next month with four quarterbacks vying for the starting job in Week 1. However, a former NFL Pro Bowler cited a source inside the organization who said the gig is already down to just two contenders.
Ex-Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh revealed on the Wednesday, June 25, edition of “Night Cap” that Cleveland is deciding between rookie signal-caller Dillon Gabriel and fourth-year quarterback Kenny Pickett for top spot on the depth chart
“I don’t know how this is a fair competition,” Houshmandzadeh said. “I was told by somebody in the building, who is not a player, that it is really coming down to Kenny Pickett or Dillon Gabriel.”
“I was told by somebody that’s in the building, that ain’t a player, it’s really coming down to Kenny Pickett or Dillon Gabriel,” – @housh84 via @NightcapShow_ on the Browns QB competition.
Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/XjaCvewlma
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) June 26, 2025
If that is the case then the futures of Joe Flacco and rookie Shedeur Sanders are very much up in the air, and either could be gone this summer or before the start of next season.
Flacco, even if he ends up the starter at some point in 2025, is on a one-year deal and playing in his age-40 campaign. As such, he’s obviously not the quarterback of the future in Cleveland and may be finished with the Browns, and with the NFL entirely, come 2026.
Sanders, a first-round prospect for much of last season and during the months leading up to April’s draft, dropped all the way to the early fifth round — likely changing Cleveland’s plans after the team selected Gabriel late in the third round the day before.
It would make sense that the Browns would hold onto Sanders until at least the trade deadline, if not the entirety of the 2025 campaign, whether Gabriel or Pickett wins the starting job.
If Pickett earns the rank of QB1, he will likely remain there as long as he’s healthy and playing well enough to keep the Browns in postseason contention. If and when either of those things is no longer true, however, it would make sense for Gabriel and/or Sanders to get a shot to start.
Should Gabriel start in Week 1, which veteran the Browns hold onto between Flacco and Pickett will be an interesting call. One, or both, could fetch a draft asset in trade ahead of Week 1 or the November 4 trade deadline, while the other could remain on the roster as QB insurance.
It would also make sense for the Browns to keep Sanders in that scenario in case the opportunity and/or need arises for him to step into a starting role so Cleveland can see what it has in the popular, yet polarizing, 23-year-old signal-caller.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.