Browns training camp off to slow start, but plenty of QB drama is still to come

New York Times

3 days ago

BEREA, Ohio — There will be no rush to judgment regarding either the Cleveland Browns' quarterback situation or the team's quest to return to respectability from either inside or outside the training camp ropes.
In two days, we've seen pretty standard football practices. The quarterback rotation is interesting but largely unchanged from the spring, and basic introductions have produced almost no offensive fireworks.
Advertisement
Camp officially opened with practices of about 70 minutes on Wednesday and Thursday, the latter of which took place in temperatures over 90 degrees. The Browns will have their first practices open to fans on Friday and Saturday, and their first padded practice will be on Monday.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski won't say it directly, but having a clear starting quarterback by the fourth week of camp and the Browns' trip to Philadelphia for joint practices with the Eagles seems like a reasonable goal.
Kenny Pickett was first in the drill lines in each of the first two practices and first up in 11-on-11 work on Wednesday. As Stefanski promised, Thursday's change put Joe Flacco first up in 11-on-11 work. Dillon Gabriel is clearly third in line ahead of fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders for now. Gabriel is always second or third in drill lines, as Flacco sometimes takes fewer reps because he's the most experienced of the group.
Stefanski said he and the coaching staff will evaluate and potentially change rep order and quantity next week. Starting with Monday's first practice in pads, the Browns will have six sessions before they travel to Carolina for an Aug. 6 joint practice with the Panthers. The Browns continue to run simultaneous 7-on-7 drills in practice to maximize (and share) reps. After Thursday's practice, a group of rookies and down-the-depth-chart players remained on the field for some extra 11-on-11 work that saw Sanders then Gabriel each take three reps.
Stefanski has said little about his plans for the coming weeks or the Aug. 8 preseason game in Carolina. Probably, those reps will be earned and subsequently awarded based on what happens in the practices that lie directly ahead. Thus far, we've seen a lot of short passes and not many streaks of consecutive completions.
Advertisement
A Thursday red zone 11-on-11 drill saw Pickett take five snaps with the No. 1 offense versus No. 1 defense, then Gabriel and Sanders each received four snaps with the second and third units. None of those plays produced a touchdown.
Rookie running back Quinshon Judkins, the second of Cleveland's two second-round picks, remains unsigned and away from the team following his July 12 arrest on a domestic violence charge.
Stefanski said the Browns take the matter 'very, very seriously' and that the team continues to gather all available information on the incident. On Thursday, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said much of the same while stressing that the Browns won't make any decisions on Judkins' football future until they know more.
'Our initial responsibility as an organization is to gather as much information and particularly quality information as possible,' Berry said. 'Even though it's a highly public incident, rarely does all the information become public or easily accessible, which is why it's so important for us to work through the legal process, work with investigators, obviously communicate and share information with the league. But it's not until that time that we get enough information and enough quality information that we will determine or decide the next steps of what to do with that, with the player or the employee.
'So in terms of Quinshon specifically, we're still gathering information. Sometimes that process occurs quickly. Sometimes the information comes a little bit more slowly, but we're still in really probably the information gathering stage with him, and given the fact that he's still in an active legal situation, there's not much that I can comment specifically on his case at this point.'
Last year, Browns second-round pick Mike Hall Jr. was arrested on a domestic violence charge during training camp. Hall pleaded no contest last September and served a five-game suspension, but he was in practice the day after his arrest. In May, Browns linebacker Devin Bush was arrested on charges of harassment and simple assault involving his girlfriend. Bush has a pre-trial hearing set for next month in Pennsylvania.
Advertisement
'All these situations are different and unique, and the information that we had at the time with Mike was different than what we have (with Judkins),' Berry said. 'The other thing I'd add is any decision for follow-up — whether it's reintegration or discipline or removal from team activities — those decisions aren't made in a vacuum. Those aren't football decisions. They're with a variety of people that have different expertise, many of whom aren't in football operations. So each situation is different, and I don't think you should necessarily map one to the other.'
Berry was asked on Thursday if he envisioned a scenario in which the Browns would not sign Judkins to his rookie contract, essentially relinquishing his rights based on the incident. Berry said the team is dealing with it 'day to day' in learning more about the situation, and that it's too early to know if that's a possibility.
It's clear the Browns viewed Judkins as an immediate contributor — and likely their lead back this season. With his playing status unclear, running back joins wide receiver as a position to monitor in the coming weeks for potential external additions.
Jerome Ford, the No. 1 running back for now, has missed the first two practices due to what the team has called a minor injury. Stefanski said Ford is 'progressing well,' but he did not give a thorough update.
Pierre Strong Jr., who's been a core special teams player the past two seasons, has been first in the running back lines in practice. Fourth-round rookie Dylan Sampson has taken some snaps with the No. 1 and No. 2 offenses. The Browns also have undrafted rookie Ahmani Marshall and fullback Troy Hairston in their running back group. Unless Judkins is participating in practice soon, it's fair to assume the team will add a running back in the coming days as the length and intensity of practices increase.
Outside of running back and quarterback, the Browns are pretty locked in with most of their initial starting lineup. At least at this point. The most interesting and competitive non-quarterback position battles figure to come further down the depth chart, though the joint practices almost certainly will bring spice and some unpredictability next month.
The offensive line has four longtime starters and Dawand Jones trying to lock down the left tackle spot. Third-year player Isaiah McGuire is running with the No. 1 defense at the end spot opposite Myles Garrett. First-round rookie Mason Graham and newly acquired veteran Maliek Collins are at the tackle spots with the first defense.
Advertisement
Jordan Hicks, the team's most experienced linebacker, has missed the first two practices due to personal reasons. That's left rookie Carson Schwesinger, Bush and Mohamoud Diabate at linebacker with the first group in the base defense. Greg Newsome II has been at cornerback opposite Denzel Ward in the base defense. Newly acquired defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka worked with the No. 3 defense early in Thursday's practice, but later he was with the starters in the red zone drill as Garrett sat.
Safety Grant Delpit intercepted Pickett during a 7-on-7 drill Thursday. A well-placed Flacco fastball along the sideline to Jerry Jeudy drew the attention of onlookers, but defensive players claimed Jeudy was out of bounds. On Wednesday, Gabriel hit undrafted rookie Gage Larvadain on a deep pass after it appeared a defender fell, and Larvadain ran free.
Grant taking it the other way! 🔒🙌@realgrantdelpit | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/p2ZR9OBiXt
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) July 25, 2025
By my unofficial count after two days (and including the Thursday snaps after many veterans left the practice field), the quarterback reps have gone as follows:
Pickett: Nine reps in 7-on-7, 14 in competitive 11-on-11 situations (seven called passes)
Flacco: Nine reps in 7-on-7, five in competitive 11-on-11 situations (three passes)
Gabriel: Nine reps in 7-on-7, 16 in competitive 11-on-11 situations (10 passes)
Sanders: Nine reps in 7-on-7, 12 in competitive 11-on-11 situations (seven passes)
(Top photo of Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco: Ken Blaze / Imagn Images)