Day 8 of the Browns‘ training camp swung between promise and puzzlement. The mood was light as Kenny Pickett finally returned. Still hamstrung, Pickett stayed in individual drills and is expected to participate in team drills on Saturday, easing back in the mix. Meanwhile, Joe Flacco quietly delivered arguably his best showing of camp. The veteran finished Day 8 with a crisp 9-of-13 passing line, two touchdowns, no picks, and generally looked the part of the seasoned vet Cleveland needs.

The atmosphere felt optimistic: veterans steadying the ship, rookies rotating it with energy. But just when the outlook felt clear, a wrinkle appeared. Rookie Dillon Gabriel’s shaky outing suddenly turned all eyes toward him. The Oregon Ducks product had a rough day on Friday’s (August 1) practice, where he completed just 21% of passes. We’re talking about 3-of-14 with no TDs, and one pick. Not so efficient. The twist?

Well, if we look at the OTA, the mandatory minicamp, and even the ongoing training camp, one thing seems certain: Kevin Stefanski and Co. want Gabriel to start at some point in the 2025 season. After all, first, he got the most reps at the OTAs and the minicamp than Shedeur Sanders. And when camp rolled in, he grabbed the most first-team reps than Sanders again. The result? Not something to be optimistic about.

Here’s how things worked out on Day 8 at the Browns’ camp. Besides Pickett being limited to individual drills and Flacco having the best day at camp, it was Gabriel who continued to get a handful of first-team reps behind Flacco. And Shedeur? Well, he led the backup units while completing 70% of his passes (7/10), with one touchdown and zero picks.

The writing is on the wall: behind Flacco and Pickett, Gabriel is taking the most reps and has struggled to turn heads as the regular season inches closer. Meanwhile, Shedeur Sanders seems the better quarterback for the starting role. Sure, he’s got some first-team reps a couple of days ago, and undoubtedly, he ended Day 8 with the first-team reps. But most of the time, he’s leading the backup units, unlike Gabriel.

As Day 9 of the camp is here, we’ve the latest insight on the Browns’ quarterback room. The Browns’ reporter, Daniel Oyefusi, reported that the Browns started team drills in the red zone. Leading the chorus again was Dillon Gabriel, who led the second-team offense vs. the first-team offense. He had a sluggish start as he had two incompletions. However, he eventually recorded a 1-yd TD.

Flacco then took over and led the first-team offense vs. the second-team defense. As for Shedeur? We’ll see if he gets more meaningful reps today. Meanwhile, the head coach, Stefanski, didn’t seem happy with the Browns’ practice.

The four-way quarterback battle made the Browns’ practice sloppier

They say Kevin Stefanski is one of the head coaches who is on the hot seat entering the 2025 season, and they’re right. After a poor 3-14 season, Stefanski will enter the 2025 season in the same division that has Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Aaron Rodgers as the QB1. And the Browns? They’ve got four QBs, with the fifth one getting ready to make a comeback.

Following a terrible stint with Deshaun Watson, the Browns brought four quarterbacks for this season. And the logic tracks. After all, Stefanski wants stability under the center. But the way things have unfolded, the decision to have a four-way quarterback room has led to sloppier practice sessions early in the camp. And the head coach agrees with it.

Stefanski recently sat down with 92.3 The Fan, where he revealed that he’s not pleased with what he saw on the field. “Yeah, sloppy, not thrilled,” he said. “Listen, we’re chasing… You’re not going to get to perfection, but we have to be way better in a bunch of different areas today, offense, defense, special teams. The good news is it’s August 1, but there’s a lot of urgency that we have to have, and we have to be better today. I wasn’t thrilled.”

The urgency’s real — you can feel it around this team. The Browns have missed the playoffs three times in the last five years, and their quarterback situation has been a revolving door for what feels like forever. Loading up on talent at the position this offseason was supposed to steady the ship. But so far? Stefanski doesn’t exactly sound thrilled with how things are looking at camp. The execution’s been shaky, and the consistency is not there. We’ll see how things get better from here.