The Browns‘ camp kicked off with all the usual growing pains. Bad snaps, wobbly throws, dropped passes, and a few too many defenders crashing in untouched. Nothing unusual, just the beautiful mess that comes with molding a team in late July. So, when Sunday rolled around, the first official breather, Kevin Stefanski and crew hit pause to review the opening act. Four days in, and the eyes were already narrowing in on the quarterback room, where the reps were starting to mean something.

According to ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi, the pecking order was clear. Joe Flacco is at the top, Kenny Pickett backing him up, with rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders waiting their turn. You could feel it; unless someone imploded, that order would hold when full pads came on Monday. No drama. No shuffle. Just steady competition. But then came the wrinkle. Pickett tweaked his hamstring in Saturday’s session.

And just like that, the door cracked open. Following his hamstring injury, Pickett is expected to miss at least a few days of the camp. And that means only one thing: the rookies could hear opportunity knocking. Fast forward to now, and the Browns have put the pads on in Berea today. With Pickett sidelined, Sanders and Gabriel are now expected to get meaningful snaps, as confirmed by the Browns’ insider & reporter Brad Stainbrook.

“Expect the intensity to pick up,” he wrote. Let’s call it what it is. “I know it will get reported on who’s in there first, and it may change,” Stefanski said on day 1 of the camp. “It will change tomorrow. So I caution you to read too much into it until we get much later on in the process.” The writing was on the wall from the start: quarterback reps weren’t going to be evenly split. And Shedeur Sanders knew he’d be starting at the bottom.

On Day 1, Kenny Pickett got all the first-team work, while Sanders rotated in with the third-team unit. Day 2 brought a shift, but not in his favor. Flacco and Pickett shared the top reps, with Shedeur still alternating between second and third-team duties. Even as Dillon Gabriel earned first-team looks on Days 3 and 4, Sanders remained just outside that inner circle, still waiting for his shot with the starters.

Fast forward to now, and with Pickett, who took the most shares of first-team reps, sidelined, Shedeur Sanders is in line to get more meaningful reps from Monday. An opportunity? Of course. Will he grab it? No doubt, after a shaky start. Taken all together, Shedeur needed an opportunity. And the way things unfolded, expect the intensity in the Browns’ QB room to pick up. After all, Stefanski is expected to announce QB1 in a few weeks.

Kevin Stefanski could announce QB1 sooner than expected

The skies over Berea might be cloudy, but the Browns’ quarterback room is heating up and fast. Even if it’s just for a few weeks. For months, fans and analysts have speculated, debated, and floated trade rumors, all while waiting for the Browns to name their 2025 starter. With training camp underway, the Dawg Pound expects Kevin Stefanski & Co. to make that call soon.

According to The Athletic, the Browns ideally want to wrap up the QB battle by the second week of August. They’ll hold joint practices with the Eagles on August 13 and 14, followed by a round of preseason games. The Athletic reports the team could name its starting quarterback just before—or during—the final week of preseason, when they host the Rams on August 23.

For the time being, the odds are still in favor of Flacco, as per the first-team reps. Now that Pickett is out for a few days, the rookies will definitely get some meaningful reps, sure. But both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are unlikely to start week 1. Unless something unexpected happens. That said, a couple of things seem to be certain for now. For starters, much of the attention will be on the rookies as they will get more action this week. And second, we can expect the QB1 announcement sooner than expected.