The Cleveland Browns selected Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback for the 2025 season. That leaves ambiguity behind him on the Browns’ QB depth chart with Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders, in that order.
USA Today’s Jacob Camenker believes there’s a possibility Sanders and Gabriel could move up in Cleveland’s pecking order. All it takes is one simple decision by Browns general manager Andrew Berry:
Trading, releasing, or putting Pickett on IR to unlock his rookies.
“Sanders remains in the No. 4 slot on Cleveland's depth chart, but he may be able to move up in the pecking order in preseason Week 3. His chance of doing so may depend on what the team does with Pickett, who hasn't yet played during the preseason while nursing a hamstring injury,” Camenker wrote.
“If the Browns keep Pickett, Sanders and Gabriel figure to battle for the team's third-string job to start the season. Gabriel, who was selected 50 picks ahead of Sanders, likely has a leg up in that battle.
“But if Cleveland decides not to keep Pickett, or stashes him on IR amid his hamstring issues, that could open the door for Sanders and Gabriel to battle for the Browns backup quarterback job.”
Everything coming out of Berea indicates that Berry and Kevin Stefanski don’t want to keep all four guys on the roster for long.
Tyler Huntley, who was signed strictly as a training camp/preseason body, is the only guaranteed cut over the next week. There’s almost certainly going to be a move made by the NFL trade deadline in Cleveland’s QB room in some way, shape, or form.