What the Browns accomplished in Charlotte — and what's next to answer

New York Times

3 days ago

Notes, quotes and observations from the Browns' trip to Charlotte, N.C., which included a joint practice session with the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday and Friday night's preseason opener for both teams …
• Shedeur Sanders was the headliner, and his two-touchdown performance in his professional debut drew attention from all corners of the football and non-football worlds. Both teams played mostly backups after the Panthers played a lot of their starters over the game's first 12 minutes, and Browns coach Kevin Stefanski always viewed the week in two parts: first, a fairly normal training camp week with an unfamiliar opponent on the field Wednesday, then the game as an unscripted audition for mostly rookies and backups.
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The Browns' No. 1 offense probably had its best day of the summer in the joint practice, at least from a pass-accuracy and practice-tempo perspective. Quarterback Joe Flacco talked about the Browns being sloppy with some post-snap execution and still looking to clean up pre-snap penalties, but that's part of the business in August with wide receivers and running backs subbing in and out on almost every play.
Flacco and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy showed a real connection. The first-team offensive line played as a whole for multiple series. Jerome Ford was running back 1-A, and Dylan Sampson was 1-B. The receiving corps remains Jeudy and then a bunch of question marks, but Jeudy got open on the kind of deep and intermediate routes that Flacco can still throw well.
Defensively, the Browns were nearly whole for the joint practice and, as is the goal of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, were mostly disruptive. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young found some throwing lanes but also found himself sped up on multiple plays. As his brief cameo in Friday's game reinforced, rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger appears to be fitting in nicely.
'What we want to do every time we come out there is compete and go out there and play fast, play physical and have some passion,' Schwesinger said. 'I think we did that, and so that was great.'
The linebacker group is down its two best players from last season because of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah's neck injury and Jordan Hicks' July retirement. Schwesinger is going to be asked to play almost all the time, and he appears to be off to a strong start this summer.
Schwesinger and first-round defensive tackle Mason Graham are immediate starters as rookies but played two series in Friday's game. On the offensive side, tight end Harold Fannin Jr. played just six snaps, and Samson played eight. That's further proof that Fannin and Sampson are in the mix for real roles, even if the team's early, unofficial depth chart doesn't reflect it.
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• A lot is going on outside the evolving and much-discussed quarterback battle. But the quarterback situation remains the story of camp, and Sanders settling in to lead three scoring drives in his most extended action of summer won't make the team's consistent stance that Sanders is fourth in line any less perplexing.
All rookies need to adjust to NFL playbooks, NFL coaching, playing under center and commanding a huddle. Sanders getting out of sorts at times against the Panthers' pass rush was a reminder of his struggles under pressure in college. He's not a finished product, but his poise, accuracy and ability to extend plays and layer passes into tight windows showed up Friday, as it's done at times during training camp.
No reasonable person thinks Sanders will be fully ready to lead a team and consistently attack a complicated NFL defense three weeks from now. He's shown enough talent and growth, however, to make anyone believe he should be on the team and has a chance to develop into a starting-quality player. Sanders is talented. His throw out of his own end zone to wide receiver Gage Larvadain in the preseason opener and his floater down the sideline to receiver Luke Floriea later are proof.
downfield dart 🎯#CLEvsCAR on NFLN, @WEWS & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/IEHtRfilip
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 9, 2025
• All of that leads us to one of the complications the Browns have with the current state of the quarterback battle. Sanders started and received 45 plays in Carolina because Kenny Pickett has been limited for two weeks with a hamstring injury. Rookie Dillon Gabriel was limited in two practices last week with hamstring tightness, and Stefanski wouldn't commit to anything Saturday when it comes to Pickett and Gabriel's participation in the week ahead, when the Browns hold two joint practices against the Eagles.
Considering Stefanski's target for a quarterback decision was always around the Aug. 16 preseason game in Philadelphia, Pickett is running out of time to bid for the starting job. Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees have said that Pickett has been a willing participant in meetings and in staying ready, but until he can fully play, Flacco's grip on the job will only strengthen.
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Gabriel is ahead of Sanders in the eyes of the coaching staff, but rarely in training camp has that position matched what we've seen on the field. If Pickett and Gabriel are back to full participation, it's impossible to predict how the reps will be divided this week. Stefanski, as is his trademark, won't answer questions about his plans or any player's potential availability.
While we're mostly recapping the Browns' 90 hours in Charlotte and looking ahead to Philadelphia, it's still fair to jump ahead to Aug. 27 and the trimming of the roster to the regular-season size of 53. The Browns absolutely might keep all four quarterbacks because, if Pickett is traded or released, one of the rookies would become the immediate backup. And two seasons ago, that became a disaster for the Browns after they traded Joshua Dobbs and had to play Dorian Thompson-Robinson just five weeks later.
Ahead of camp, I believed there were dozens of ways the quarterback competition could play out. Two weeks before the preseason ends, it's still impossible to predict much of anything outside of Flacco probably being the opening-day starter. And one of the reasons is that until we see Sanders get practice reps with the No. 1 offense, we can't believe the Browns view him as having much of a shot to be the No. 2 when the season begins.
• Floriea suffered a hamstring injury in the second half Friday night, and his immediate status is uncertain. With Sampson mostly sitting, undrafted rookie running back Ahmani Marshall and newly signed veteran Trayveon Williams had some production in the preseason opener. As long as Quinshon Judkins remains unsigned and away from the team, the Browns likely will explore outside options at running back. Potentially, they could look to trade one of their experienced pass rushers for help at running back or wide receiver later this month.
• A big week is directly ahead.
The Browns will return to practice Monday. On Tuesday, the team flies to Philadelphia for controlled and scripted but full-speed joint practice sessions against the Eagles on Wednesday and Thursday. Over the past two seasons, Stefanski has used the joint practice sessions to focus on the starters and likely contributors, then played young players and backups in the subsequent preseason game.
The second preseason game for both the Browns and the Eagles is at 1 p.m. Saturday.
(Photo of Shedeur Sanders: David Jensen / Getty Images)
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