Joe Flacco is back with the Cleveland Browns, signing a one-year deal this April that could pay him up to $13 million if everything goes right. At 40 years old, he returns to the team where he authored one of 2023’s most impressive 4-1 down stretches, going from unemployed to Comeback Player of the Year while leading the Browns to the playoffs. But this time, everyone knows exactly what they’re getting: the NFL’s best insurance policy, and possibly not a starting quarterback.

Hall of Famer Cris Carter didn’t mince words when breaking down Cleveland’s QB situation: “Nobody’s bringing Joe Flacco in the building, though. Thinking he’s the starter. If Joe Flacco is your starter, you’ve got a problem – you have a huge problem.“ His blunt assessment cuts to the heart of Flacco’s new reality. The magic of 2023 was special, but in 2025, the Browns have Kenny Pickett penciled in as QB1 for good reason.

As Carter explained, “Pickett should be the starter if you look at potential growth, understanding the vision in NFL offenses.“ The former first-rounder represents Cleveland’s future, coming off a 2024 season where he showed flashes of promise – a respectable 86.5 passer rating, improved decision-making (2:1 TD-to-INT ratio), and mobility that adds another dimension to the offense. While his 65.4 PFF grade ranked 46th among QBs, it established a foundation the Browns believe can develop further. Flacco, meanwhile, serves what Carter colorfully described as “an emergency band-aid – if you start hemorrhaging out blood, Flacco can stop the bleed.“ It’s not the most glamorous role, but at 40, Flacco understands the assignment – to mentor Pickett while staying ready if called upon.

While the selection of Dillon Gabriel in the third round (No. 94 overall) as a developmental backup is justified by his prolific college career—amassing 18,722 passing yards (second-most in Division 1 history) and 155 touchdowns—along with his standout 2024 season at Oregon (72.9% completion rate, 3,857 yards, 30 TDs, 164.9 passer rating). His early pro readiness was evident during the 2025 Browns OTAs, where he led all QBs with 22 completions on 36 attempts and multiple touchdowns, outperforming his rookie peers.

While fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders is more of a high-upside “lottery ticket” than a legitimate Year 1 contender, his raw talent is undeniable. Despite lighting up college football in 2024 (74% completion, 4,134 yards, 37 TDs) and flashing his arm talent in the Browns minicamp, concerns about maturity and attitude caused his draft to slide. And Cris Carter’s blunt assessment that “You got a real problem too“ if Sanders starts underscores the skepticism around his immediate readiness. Some scouts even see a ceiling comparable to Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow, but for now, he remains a developmental project buried on the depth chart, needing refinement before he can challenge for real snaps.

So now, with Flacco in the fold, the Browns’ quarterback room looks complete on paper. Pickett gets his shot. The rookies get time. Flacco waits in the wings. But just beneath that calm surface, things are far more fluid than they seem.

Why Shedeur Sanders may be the odd man out

Kevin Stefanski finds himself in a quarterback situation that’s less about choosing a starter and more about managing a crowded room. The Browns have four viable passers. That sounds like a first-world problem until you remember NFL teams usually keep only three. We already know the names. There’s Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and two rookies: Dillon Gabriel, the polished third-rounder, and Shedeur Sanders, the chaotic fifth-round wildcard. Sanders showed up making Tom Brady comparisons before he’d even taken a snap. The place, in all simplicity, is overcrowded.

And yet, Sanders, for all his bravado and undeniable flashes of superstar potential, might not even survive camp cuts. The disconnect is glaring. Despite completing 77.4% of his passes with a 9:1 TD-to-INT ratio in OTAs and minicamps, Sanders hasn’t taken a single first-team snap. His stats, as T.J. Houshmandzadeh noted, came against “third- and fourth-string players, the ones likely to be cut.”

The same Gabriel who, despite Sanders’ superior arm talent and college production, is already being groomed as the “safe“ developmental piece. Cleveland analyst Earl Da Pearl put it bluntly on 92.3 The Fan: “When you and me both know [Sanders] has the most upside of any QB on this roster, there’s no way he shouldn’t be QB2.“ Yet the Browns’ hierarchy is clear: draft capital (Gabriel’s third-round status) and predictability trump raw talent.

Meanwhile, Cleveland’s front office is already eyeing next year’s potential savior (Penn State’s Drew Allar), and veterans like Flacco exist solely as a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option. Even Kenny Pickett, whose ceiling screams “career backup,“ is getting the starter’s treatment. As Mary Kay Cabot reported, the Browns may keep all four QBs through August, but with a front office known for ruthless cuts (see: Dorian Thompson-Robinson), Sanders’ social media bravado, and late-round draft slot make him an easy target.

So, where does that leave Shedeur? In the same precarious spot as DTR before him, a casualty of Stefanski’s quarterback carousel, where draft pedigree trumps upside, and patience is nonexistent. The math is brutal: Cleveland didn’t draft a project; they drafted a trade chip, or worse, a cut candidate.

The Browns’ QB room isn’t just crowded. It’s a graveyard for potential. And unless Sanders forces a reckoning, his NFL future may end before it ever begins.