Early indications give one Browns quarterback a leg up for starting job
The quarterback question will be a big one for the Browns as they enter the 2025 season with a plethora of options at the position.
But one Browns insider believes that one quarterback in Cleveland already has the upper hand in the battle for the starter role.
Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot views Kenny Pickett as the favorite to win the job among a group of candidates that includes, Joe Flacco, Deshaun Watson and rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
'It's a tough call before we've even seen the first practice of organized team activities, but I know Kenny Pickett heads in as the frontrunner to win the starting job at the outset. He'll take the initial first-team reps in OTAs and probably the mandatory minicamp, and it seems like it's his job to try to keep for now,' Cabot reported.
3 Kenny Pickett #7 of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Rams during the NFC Divisional Playoff at Lincoln Financial Field on January 19, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Getty Images
Pickett saw limited playing time with the Eagles last season, appearing in five games while completing 59.5 percent of his passes and throwing for 291 yards.
Prior to that, he played two seasons in Pittsburgh, during which he threw for over 2,000 yards in 2022 and 2023.
But the Browns complicated their QB situation further by drafting Gabriel and then taking Sanders in the later rounds, creating quite the stir, especially with so much attention already on Sanders and the Browns clearly needing a quarterback of the future.
3 Cleveland Browns tight end Brenden Bates (82) and quarterback Dillon Gabriel (5) take a break during the NFL football team's rookie minicamp in Berea, Ohio, Saturday, May 10, 2025.
AP
3 Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, front, walks off the field after the NFL football team's rookie minicamp.
AP
For the time being, one of the veterans will be holding the reins at QB, with the early indications pointing to Pickett, though Cabot did suggest that Flacco would make a strong case as well.
'Flacco's big arm will dazzle in camp, and it will be hard to keep him off the field, especially because he'll fighting so hard to win the battle,' she wrote.
One thing that does seem sure is that Watson seems to be the one vet that isn't expected to get the starter's job.
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