There’s real uncertainty clouding the Browns‘ quarterback room, and it’s not just media noise. Aditi Kinkhabwala hinted on air that Kenny Pickett might get the starter job, while Kyle Long chose Joe Flacco as the clear starter. That’s the vibe. Pickett may be taking the first-team reps, but no one’s locking in long term. Flacco’s veteran status, Dillon Gabriel’s upside, and Shedeur Sanders‘ flash keep this room murky. It’s not a competition, it’s a calculation. And the Browns are still doing the math.

Locked On Browns’ reporter Spencer German reported on the QB situation from the first day of training camp on July 23. He provided a vital update and said, “You want to hear about the quarterbacks. It was very similar, rotationally, to how they ran things during minicamp. During seven-on-sevens, it was Flacco to Pickett to Gabriel to Sanders.” It’s clear. Kevin Stefanski is not checking things very seriously.

He even continued the drills in the same way as German revealed, “Then when you got to 11-on-11s, same exact way that it ended at minicamp. It was Pickett running with the ones, it was Dylan Gabriel running with the twos, and it was Shedeur Sanders running with the threes, Joe Flacco standing by as a spectator.” So, things are going on in the same way as before. But Joe Flacco has the most chances of starting for them.

Flacco, now 40, has played in 196 career NFL games and thrown for 45,697 yards with 257 touchdowns and a 61.7% completion rate. Kenny Pickett, entering his fourth NFL season at age 27, has thrown for a total of 4,765 yards, with 15 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and a 62.4% completion percentage across 30 games.

Dillon Gabriel, the rookie from Oregon, finished his college career with an eye-popping 18,722 passing yards, 155 total touchdowns, and just 32 interceptions over 64 games. Shedeur Sanders, also a rookie and the youngest of the group at 22, wrapped up his final season at Colorado with 4,134 passing yards, 37 touchdowns, only 8 interceptions, and a blistering 74.0% completion rate.

These stats underline the Browns’ quarterback dilemma. Flacco has the experience, Pickett has the stats, Gabriel brings explosive college numbers, and Sanders offers huge upside with polish. However, none of them enter 2025 as a sure thing. Even the rookies are competing among themselves.

Dillon Gabriel impresses, Shedeur Sanders lags in rookie QB race

The situation intensified in the draft when they drafted Sanders in the 5th round, following their selection of Gabriel in the 3rd round. Now, that’s quietly turning heads. Both were drafted to develop, but only one looked like he came in ready to push. Day one didn’t deliver equal footing. It delivered separation.

Dillon Gabriel played with speed, confidence, and timing. Sanders? He showed flashes, but also looked like he’s still adjusting to the pace and pro-level reads. “I thought Dillon Gabriel had the best throw of the day. Deep ball down the far sideline and a really nicely designed sort of fake boot to the left play, and then throw back to the right.” German said, pointing to a deep ball that left an imprint. It came on a perfectly disguised fake bootleg left, where Gabriel planted, reversed, and dropped a strike down the right sideline. The design was slick. The execution was cleaner. It wasn’t just pretty, it was NFL-caliber.

Sanders, meanwhile, had moments of decisiveness but lacked the same explosiveness. Around 2 days ago, on July 22, even Tony Grossi echoed the same sentiment while talking with ESPN Cleveland. He said, “They are intrigued by Dillon Gabriel. They think from the neck up he is a No. 1 pick, from the neck up.” That means sad news for the rookie supporters.

Overall, that doesn’t ease the tension between the QBs. Chiefs veteran Kyle Long earlier said on CBS that the Browns will pump out both rookies. If that happens, they will have only two QBs to choose from. That means they will go into the 2026 draft looking for the face of the franchise again.