The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback battle has come to a conclusion.
The Browns have officially named Joe Flacco their QB1 for Week 1 of the season, following a five-man battle between Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Tyler Huntley, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
“Obviously, we’ll name a starter. It’s going to come this week,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said right before the announcement.
“We still anticipate all of our players, whether you’re the starter or not, to prepare like you’re the starter, and knowing all of our players in that room, that’s exactly what they’ll do.”
While all signs pointed to Flacco winning the job, it’s now official.
However, Stefanski and his coaches still need to build out a Week 1 depth chart.
The Browns are likely to cut a quarterback
The franchise has a big decision on its hands and whether to keep three or four quarterbacks on their final 53-man roster.
That could be bad news for the likes of Sanders and Gabriel, as it’s unusual for a team to host four signal callers.
And with the Browns already having a veteran in Flacco, it seems likely that one of the 2025 draftees will be cut.
Stefanski already suggested that the team could part ways with one of their QBs.
“I think we’ll let it play out as we get closer to the cut down,” Stefanski said.
“Those are all conversations that we are always having, but those are tough decisions. You know, I’d like to keep everybody, but not realistic.”
Sanders, who impressed in his Browns debut against the Carolina Panthers, is day-to-day with an oblique injury.
“I hope so,” told reporters when asked if Sanders could return this week.
“We really have to take those day by day, so I don’t know where that ends up towards the end of the week, but I’m hopeful.”
Meanwhile, Gabriel, who sparked controversy after he made comments that were interpreted as digs towards Sanders, is battling a persistent hamstring issue.
“I don’t think he’s 100 percent, but I don’t know that anybody’s 100 percent, even at this point,” Stefanski said of Gabriel. “But I think he came out OK.”
Stefanski was quick to reiterate that he is pleased with all four quarterbacks, which makes potentially cutting one of them even harder.
“We take this all the way back to April with our player development and getting these guys up to speed,” Stefanski said, via SI.
“I’ve been really, really pleased with that group and how hard they’ve worked, how hard they’ve pushed each other, and they’re all getting better.
“You see all moments in practice, you see moments in games where these guys are getting better.”
The Browns have one more preseason game on Aug.23 against the Los Angeles Rams before they announce their final roster next week.
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