BEREA, Ohio -- What might be the NFL's most compelling -- and packed -- position battle begins in earnest on Wednesday.
Browns veterans reported Tuesday for the start of training camp and soon Cleveland's quarterback competition will be underway. While quarterback Deshaun Watson remains sidelined by a right Achilles tendon injury that landed him on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and is expected to keep him out for most of the 2025 season, four players -- Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders -- will compete to be the Browns' starting quarterback this fall.
Cleveland conducted a whirlwind offseason workout program that often consisted of breaking the offense into two fields to maximize practice reps for each quarterback. Coach Kevin Stefanski cautioned against reading too much into the order of reps during the spring -- all but Sanders took snaps with the first-team offense -- but acknowledged that training camp will be focused on preparation for the season, as opposed to installation and teaching the offense.
The Browns will have a pair of joint practices with the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as three preseason games, to determine the quarterback who is best suited to operate the offense and help turn the team around after a 3-14 finish last season.
Here is where each quarterback stands as training camp opens.
Joe Flacco
The unquestioned elder statesman of the quarterback room, Flacco enters his 18th NFL season at 40 years old for a second stint in Cleveland. His first came during a five-game stretch late in the 2023 season when he helped lead the Browns back to the playoffs and then was named Comeback Player of the Year.
This spring, Flacco took the fewest reps in the practices open to the media, but Stefanski said that was by design, given Flacco's experience and familiarity with the offense. During the offseason workout program, Flacco said a "good amount" of the offensive playbook is similar to when he was in Cleveland during the 2023 season.
Despite the previous relationship, Flacco said he was not guaranteed a starting spot when he signed a one-year, $4 million contract in April.
"Joe physically has been gifted with the ability to throw the football," Stefanski said in May. "He looks the same to me."
In Flacco's five regular-season starts in Cleveland two seasons ago, he led the Browns to a 4-1 record and threw for over 300 yards in four straight wins. His strong arm and propensity to push the ball down the field could help invigorate a passing game that ranked 22nd in yards per game (206.2).
Flacco, though, will have to take better care of the ball if he sees playing time this season. His eight interceptions during those five starts were tied for the most in the NFL during that time frame, and he threw a pair of pick-sixes in the Browns' wild-card loss to the Houston Texans.
Kenny Pickett
The No. 20 pick in the 2022 draft, Pickett is on his third team in four seasons and is seeking a career reclamation similar to Sam Darnold, Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield. Each were high draft picks who flamed out with their original teams and found success elsewhere.
While Pickett hasn't been a full-time starter since his second and final season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was a player the Browns have been interested in since his college days at the University of Pittsburgh.
Cleveland entered an uncertain offseason with a need to revamp its quarterback room and sought out Pickett as a trade target. The Browns sent a fifth-round pick and quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson to acquire Pickett from the Eagles in March.
"[We] feel like he's a good decision-maker, he does a really good job of protecting the ball. He's very mobile, and we think that his relative strengths are something that fit well with the offense that we're putting into place for this upcoming year," Browns general manager Andrew Berry said at the owners meeting in late March. "We do think that there's a pretty credible path for him to continue to improve and take a step forward, and I think you've seen that with players that they get into maybe new or sometimes maybe better environments for their particular path in their career."
Pickett and Gabriel received the most reps with the first-team offense in practices that were open to the media. With the presence of two rookie quarterbacks on the roster, it's plausible that the Browns keep just one of their veterans heading into the fall.
Cleveland opted against picking up Pickett's fifth-year option, meaning he will play the final year of his rookie deal on a fully guaranteed $2.62 million salary. The similar cap space dedicated to both Pickett and Flacco means there won't be major financial gains made by cutting either player over the other and might not weigh heavily in the decision-making process.
While Flacco is the more experienced -- and maybe more suitable stop-gap option -- Pickett's mobility and perceived upside could give him the edge in training camp.
Dillon Gabriel
The Browns shocked many by selecting Gabriel in the third round of April's draft, but he was a player they were extremely impressed with during the predraft process.
Berry lauded Gabriel's "well-rounded game," and his extensive college career in which he played for multiple head coaches and in a bevy of systems during stops at UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon. And the Browns didn't see Gabriel's 5-foot-11 stature as an inhibitor to his success in the NFL.
"He finds a way to get it done. And that's so important," Stefanski said. "There's quarterbacks, different shapes and sizes. You have to be able to move in the pocket. You have to feel the pocket, you have to find throwing lanes, you have to change arm angles. All that comes innately, I think, to players based on how they've kind of played the game their whole life."
Gabriel received a heavy dose of first-team reps during the offseason workout program. Despite Stefanski's caution to not make conclusions based off practice reps, Gabriel's draft status and his work with the starters suggest the Browns believe he has a pathway to play early.
Shedeur Sanders
While Sanders was once believed to be one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft, he surprisingly fell to the fifth round, where the Browns selected him with the 144th pick. Now in Cleveland, Sanders, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, seemingly faces an uphill battle in a crowded quarterback room.
Sanders didn't receive a single snap with the first-team offense in a practice open to the media. When asked for an explanation, Stefanski said, "We're in installation phase, we're in teaching phase, so not much to look into."
The Browns have been impressed with Sanders, both on the field and within the building, but did he do enough in the spring to get practice time with the starters?
Even if Sanders continues to work with and against the second team, his performance in training camp and in the preseason will be important for him possibly securing a top backup role during the regular season.
"He's worked his tail off," offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said in June. "He's really putting [in] a lot of work like all those guys are. But you could tell on the mental side of the game and learning the system and calling it and having that rhythm to it. He's put a lot of work and time and effort into that, and then when you do that, the game starts to slow down, and you can focus on finding completions. And he's done a nice job of that as camp has progressed."