Browns QB battle: Joe Flacco had a 'first round bye' this Spring

Yahoo

9 hours ago

The Cleveland Browns went through Spring OTAs and mandatory minicamp, dividing up their reps between four quarterbacks: Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders.
However, it was Flacco who saw his first-team reps decrease for Gabriel and Pickett to get more looks with the starters. This raised some eyebrows, but SI's Albert Breer has stated that it means very little. The NFL insider then went on to give his take on what to make of Cleveland's four-way quarterback battle.
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Here is what Breer had to say on the current standings of the Browns' quarterback battle:
"Flacco is on the same page as Kevin Stefanski. He's not coming back at his age to hold a clipboard. There are some changes to the offense, with new coordinator Tommy Rees (who wasn't on Stefanski's staff when Flacco was there two years ago), but the bones of it remain the same. Thus, the staff had a lot more to learn about Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders this spring.
Doing it this way requires some trust on Flacco's part, but he and Stefanski have had a good rapport, and that's why I'd regard this almost as a first-round bye in the Browns quarterback derby."
It would be shocking to see a rookie quarterback start Week 1 when the regular season rolls around. It felt obvious that it was either going to be Flacco or Kenny Pickett to start the season. The real question remains, however: if the season goes south, how long until Gabriel and Sanders get their shot to prove what they've got?
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns QB battle: Joe Flacco had a 'first round bye' this Spring