Which quarterbacks will survive?
Joe Flacco.
Kenny Pickett.
Dillion Gabriel.
Shedeur Sanders.
Not to mention, the Cleveland Browns still have Deshaun Watson in the quarterback room too. What a mess this has become. Don’t get me wrong — it’s not an unmanageable mess per se, but what once appeared to be a one-year veteran quarterback competition between Flacco and Pickett, has now turned into a situation of four quarterbacks in the mix for the job, and having no idea how to get each of them the appropriate amount of reps.
Based on draft status, technically, Sanders should get the least amount of reps, but he’s also by far going to receive the most media coverage out of all rookies on the team, and perhaps even more coverage than all of the veterans on the Browns. It’s just a whacky situation.
Teams also have gone toward the tendency of carrying a maximum of two or three quarterbacks on the roster, with one of those quarterbacks often being on the practice squad. It’s hard to imagine all four of these guys sticking around by the time Week 1 comes around. The question is, when will one of these quarterbacks be moved on from? Will it be during final roster cutdowns? Or, could the team make a move on one of them during the offseason programs?
In my mind, I imagine that Andrew Berry will not want to move on from a fourth- and fifth-round pick so quickly, so I think they are hoping that Gabriel or Sanders will mesh well with Kevin Stefanski’s system and can be the backup heading into the year. Then, it’ll be a matter of who is the bridge starter for the 2025 season — Flacco or Pickett. Despite Flacco’s struggles last year, I think a majority of the fanbase will be on Flacco’s side, and tell the team to ditch Pickett.
Berry has also shown a habit of building up a quarterback and then trading them (like Josh Dobbs). Perhaps we’ll see a scenario in which Flacco looks good enough to be the starter, but Pickett lights it up with the second-team offense, and a quarterback-needy team will want to trade for him.
If we look back at Pickett’s contract for 2025, it’s really simple: $2.623 million guaranteed. Cleveland could eat that if he’s cut, but it’s also not too absurd an amount if another team wants him.
What about trading Flacco? We broke down Flacco’s contract the other day, but Cleveland would only be on the hook for his $1.745 million signing bonus in a trade. The trade partner would take on the remaining $2.505 million of Flacco’s deal:
If the Browns were to pursue a Flacco trade, the new team would pick up $2.5m and the Browns would have to eat his $1.75m signing bonus. It’s not ideal, but the trade partner would presumably offer more draft capital with the understanding that they’re getting a $1.75m discount.
— Anthony Reinhard (@reinhardNFL) April 29, 2025
In that sense, it basically costs a team the same amount of money to trade for Flacco or Pickett — although if Flacco’s incentives can be earned by a new team, that could inflate his deal a bit. Pickett has the youth that teams are craving when thinking of the bigger picture, though. Flacco, despite his experience, has sat on the free agent wire for awhile for several years in a row, as teams haven’t shown the most demand for him unless there was a degree of desperation.
In a trade, there would also have to be another piece of the puzzle — meaning a team would have to throw a low draft pick at the Browns in return compensation, unless another player-for-player deal is done.
If one of the quarterbacks ends up being off the team come Week 1, who do you think it’ll be, Browns fans?