CLEVELAND, Ohio - Everyone wonders which of the Browns’ four quarterbacks in their four-way competition will be the odd man out, but there might not be one.
Thanks in part to low base salaries and cap numbers for all of them, they can afford to keep all four from a financial standpoint, and it also makes sense from a roster building-standpoint.
The base salaries and cap numbers of the four are as follows: Joe Flacco ($4.25 million base, $2.854 million cap); Kenny Pickett ($2.623 million base and cap); third-round pick Dillon Gabriel; ($840,000 base, $1.132 million cap); and Shedeur Sanders ($840,000 base, $951,845 cap.) That’s a total of a little more than $7.6 million in cap space for all four.
Of course, they’re on a budget in the room because Deshaun Watson still has two more actual years on his contract at cap numbers of $35.971 million in 2025 and $80.716 million in 2026, with void years through 2030 to spread out the cap hits. The Browns also have a provision in the oft-restructured deal that will enable them to lower next year’s $46 million base salary again, using the 2030 void year to help manage the load.
But money isn’t the only reason the Browns are likely to keep all four quarterbacks possibly until the trade deadline on Nov. 4, and maybe even for the whole season.
For starters, they’re straddling two worlds between trying to win in 2025, and determining their strategy in the 2026 draft, when they have two first round picks — their own and that of the Jaguars from the blockbuster trade down from No. 2 to No. 5 this year.
In what’s expected to be a much stronger quarterback class in 2026, the Browns will be poised to draft their franchise QB if they still need one. Even if one or more of their three current young quarterbacks in Pickett, Gabriel or Sanders demonstrates QB1 potential, they’d be smart to still draft one in the first round next year to stockpile assets at the most important position in the NFL. If they end up with a surplus, they’ll have a good, low-budget QB room, and perhaps some tradeable commodities.
Heading into training camp next month, the Browns’ four-way quarterback competition is still up for grabs, but Flacco and Pickett have an edge based on their veteran experience. The rookies have performed extremely well, with Sanders coming on strong the past two weeks after a slow start, but it would still be difficult for them to surpass QBs with 18 and 4 years’ experience. The learning curve is still steep for a rookie, and the Browns aren’t hard-pressed to start one of them from the jump.
From a roster standpoint, the Browns can find a way to keep all four QBs by borrowing from another position, even if it’s just until the trade deadline. Of course, if someone makes them an offer they can’t refuse for one of the veterans on roster cutdown day Aug. 27, they’d probably at least listen providing they have a good starter and backup. And if a team loses a QB before Nov. 4, the Browns might be willing to part with one of them, most likely a veteran, and probably most likely Flacco from a roster-building and QB development standpoint, if they’re in good shape at QB1 and QB2.
If the Browns find themselves still in the playoff conversation after eight games, they’ll start whoever gives them the best chance to win regardless of their need to evaluate the rookies. In that case, they might even hang onto all four for the season. But if they’re out of it by then, or close to it, they’d undoubtedly consider unloading a veteran and turning it over to the rookies. In a perfect world, they’ll get a good look at both Gabriel and Sanders this year to help shape the room in 2026.
The trade deadline also comes right after the Browns’ bye week, which would give them a chance to regroup and switch to a new starter if necessary. And while they’re heavily evaluating their own QBs in those first eight games — in the midst of a grueling schedule — they’ll also be thoroughly scouting the much-heralded 2026 class, which includes Penn State’s Drew Allar, Miami’s Carson Beck, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, and possibly Texas’ Arch Manning.
As it stands right now, the two rookies quarterbacks have proven worthy of a longer look, and both will make the team. The Browns will also likely ignore any trade interest in either of them in the interest of continuing to developing them. Rookies come along at different paces, and the last thing they’d want to do is give up on one too soon. And if Pickett flourishes in this QB-friendly scheme the way the Browns hope he will, he can remain in the conversation beyond this season too.
As for Watson, he’s progressing well in his rehab from the torn Achilles, but will begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and might not be ready to play this year. But with him still under contract next season and the enormous cap considerations, he’s also in the mix to remain around in 2026.
For this season, the Browns will continue to give all four quarterbacks a bona fide chance, probably at least until after the two joint practices with Philly before the Aug. 16 preseason game there. But come roster cutdown day Aug. 27, there’s a decent chance all four will be on the 53-man roster.
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