Cleveland Browns' One Big Question: So, Who's the Quarterback?

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Cleveland Browns' One Big Question: So, Who's the Quarterback? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
In this offseason series, Athlon Sports' Doug Farrar asks the One Big Question for all 32 NFL teams — the primary discussion point that will measure ultimate success (or not) for every franchise. We continue our AFC North discussion with the Cleveland Browns, who have tried very hard since their re-inception in 1999 to find their franchise quarterback. Between Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders, who has the best opportunity?
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The Cleveland Browns came into the NFL from the old All-America Football Conference in 1950 completely set at the game's most important position. They had Otto Graham, probably the greatest quarterback of his era, and throughout their history, quarterback generally wasn't a problem. Graham, Frank Ryan, Brian Sipe, and Bernie Kosar kept the franchise championship-conversant for the most part until the team moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens after the 1995 season.
But since the Browns became the New Browns in 1999, they have been quite cursed at that position. The jerseys tell the story best, but since 1999, 40 different quarterbacks have started at least one game for the Browns, and most have done so with very little distinction.
Baker Mayfield, selected with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft, has been the best overall, but the Browns jettisoned Mayfield in favor of Deshaun Watson in 2022 in what turned out to be the worst trade in NFL history. Cleveland gave up three first-round picks and a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract for a guy who has been a disaster both on and off the field, and they've paid for that accordingly.
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Now that even team owner Jimmy Haslam has admitted that the Watson deal was a "swing and a miss," the Browns are trying to make chicken salad out of the quarterback position in the short term. There are now four contestants in the running for the title of Browns Starting Quarterback in 2025.
Joe Flacco, who played with some distinction for the team in 2023, and turned 40 on January 16;
Kenny Pickett, who played with very little distinction for the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Steelers selected him with the 20th overall pick in the 2022 draft, and then played very little at all for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024;
Dillon Gabriel, who the Browns took with the 94th overall pick in the third round of the 2025 draft; and
Shedeur Sanders, who the Browns took with the 144th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2025 draft.
Most likely, Flacco's best days are in the rearview mirror. Pickett's best days may not be a factor; he's not been an obvious NFL starting caliber quarterback at any point in his career. Gabriel is a left-handed, 5-foot-11, 205-pound quarterback, which is why he lasted as long as he did despite a collegiate career of some distinction, and Sanders is a raw, talented quarterback prospect whose iffy pre-draft meetings with NFL teams most likely doomed his position in the draft before it began.
Last season for the Indianapolis Colts, Flacco was a perfectly serviceable spot-starter level quarterback while Anthony Richardson dealt with injuries and his own rough NFL transition. Flacco completed 162 of 248 passes for 1,761 yards, 12 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 90.5. Flacco won't win you a lot of games, but he's less likely to be the reason you lose more often than not.
Pickett is the great unknown, even if you still believe in his NFL potential. In two years with the Steelers before he was traded in-state in 2024, Pickett completed 446 of 713 passes for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and a passer rating of 78.8, With Pickett, the idea was always that he could be a good point guard/ball distributor type, but when you're distributing as many interceptions as touchdowns, something's obviously wrong with the paradigm.
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As for Gabriel, he's always been underrated because of his size, but this could be a guy to watch. Last season, Gabriel was among the FBS's best quarterbacks when throwing outside the pocket, when throwing under pressure, and when throwing deep. Overall, Gabriel completed 326 of 451 passes for 3,854 yards, 30 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a passer rating of 114.6. This after a 2024 season at Oklahoma in which Gabriel completed 264 of 383 passes for 3,655 yards, 30 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a passer rating of 118.9. He's not a one-year wonder at all.
And then, there's Shedeur Sanders. The Browns were taking a flyer on Colorado's quarterback where they got him after the most news-worthy draft slide in recent memory, and it was pretty clear from the post-draft quotes from head coach Kevin Stefanski and executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry that the people in the building were a lot more excited about Gabriel's fit in Stefanski's ideal offense than what Sanders might bring.
'It's a good question," Stefanski said of Gabriel's height. "Obviously, there's guys that have come before Dillon. There are guys that will come after him that don't have the quote unquote 'ideal height'. But hasn't held him back in his career. You know, he's been that height for a long time. He finds a way to get it done. And, you know, that's so important. 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.'
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When it came to Sanders, the comments were more generic, which tells you who everybody really wanted.
'I just say the biggest thing for us, you know, we live by our board," Berry said of the Sanders pick. "We felt like he was a good, solid prospect at the most important position. We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mispriced relative to the draft. Really, the acquisition cost was pretty light, and it's a guy that we think can outproduce his draft slot. So, I wouldn't say it's any more than that. Obviously, Shedeur has kind of grown up in the spotlight, but our expectation is for him to come in here and work and compete. Nothing's been promised. Nothing will be given. So, I may hesitate to characterize it as a blockbuster. That's not necessarily how we thought of the transaction, but we are excited to work with him.'
Sanders backed into some bad habits at Colorado behind an offensive line that had him running for his life more often than not — most clearly a terrible tendency to drift outside the pocket against his own momentum — and when you factor in his reported unpreparedness for NFL meetings before he was drafted, and the inevitable drama that comes with the Sanders name, it's a tougher sell. There are traits that could determine NFL success, but Gabriel is the more consistent player based on the collegiate body of work.
Related: How Shedeur Sanders' NFL Team Can Transform Him From Question Mark to Exclamation Point
It's unknown how things will shake out at quarterback for these Browns, but here's the thing: The clock is ticking. On the surface, this team appears to be stacked at most other positions, but in 2026, contractual void years kick in for (deep breath) offensive tackle Jack Conklin, offensive guards Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, and Tevin Jenkins, center Ethan Pocic, tight end David Njoku, edge-rushers Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, linebackers Jordan Hicks and Devin Bush, and interior defensive lineman Shelby Harris.
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That's a lot to replace in a year, and because of the Watson deal, the Browns won't have much to work with. They're already more than $36 million over the salary cap for the 2026 league year, primarily because Watson's cap number balloons to an absolutely insane $80,716,514, and even if they were to release Watson after June 1, 2026, the dead cap hit would be exactly the same.
So, maybe the plan here is to see what Flacco can still bring to start the season, hope that one of the rookies shows out enough to take over as things progress, and re-evaluate everything in what will be a very tough 2026.
The best possible outcome for the Browns is that one of the rookies or Pickett proves to be of starting quality even as everything else falls apart in the short term. Which would be quite the role reversal for a franchise that finally got everything together at all the non-quarterback positions over the last few seasons, just in time for rabid uncertainty where it matters most.
Related: Cincinnati Bengals' One Big Question: Can Al Golden Fix the Defense Without His Best Player?
Related: Baltimore Ravens' One Big Question: Can Lamar Jackson Finally Transcend Postseason Demons?
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.