As the Cleveland Browns prepare for joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles for the next two days, Kevin Stefanski was once again pushed on the quarterback situation. During his media time, he stated that Kenny Pickett would be limited to 7-on-7 on Wednesday while Dillion Gabriel was “doing better” and would get 11-on-11 snaps.
“The plan was always to give both guys a start in the preseason. We will see how it works out.” https://t.co/0iwhM4Dih9
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) August 13, 2025
While we still expect Joe Flacco to get most of the first-team reps during joint practices, Stefanski did say, "the plan was always to give both (Sanders and Pickett) a start in the preseason. We will see how it works out."
Joe Flacco will get the majority of first-team reps today, as expected. He’s not expected to play in Saturday’s preseason game.
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) August 13, 2025
What does this mean for the Browns? It looks like Gabriel is in the driver's seat to start the Week 2 preseason game on Saturday, assuming no setbacks, and with the injury keeping Pickett out of team drills, it looks less and less likely that he will be the regular-season starter.
It makes sense for the Browns to give Pickett plenty of time to get fully healthy before rushing him to the field, but at this point in his career, he hasn’t earned the right to start without showing something on the field.
Look for Pickett to be back at full practice on Monday and for him to get the start in Week 3 vs. the Rams and potentially get many reps with the first team in live game-action. With all of the injuries and limited practice time from Pickett, don’t expect Stefanski to make a decision in the next week on who the starter will be for Week 1 of the regular season.
There is excitement around Sanders' first start, and we will likely see Gabriel for the first time on Saturday, but for Week 1, it’s always felt like a two-dog race between Pickett and Flacco.