The Browns’ quarterback competition is through its first phase, and the reviews, meaningless as they may be, are in. At least in the eyes of Browns reporter Zac Jackson, there is a clear frontrunner, as well as some intrigue. While Joe Flacco is the favorite to start, the rookies are surging.
As for Kenny Pickett, Jackson had little to say about him in the Browns’ quarterback competition. Outside of writing that he is typically first in warmup lines and a lot of drills, he only added, “Pickett has been unremarkable”. Unremarkable, though, doesn’t mean bad, especially not in OTAs and minicamp. The real race won’t begin until training camp, but while they split fields then, there are only three preseason games.
“From here, the belief is that Flacco is the clear favorite to win the first phase of that competition and the starting job”, Jackson wrote. But the rookies are making the Browns’ quarterback competition more interesting.
Of Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland’s third-round pick, he finished minicamp “strongly” following some erratic play. But Shedeur Sanders seems to have the highest potential to make the Browns’ quarterback competition interesting.
“The addition of Sanders is actually what makes it intriguing. Not just his presence, but the accuracy and decisiveness he’s shown this spring”, he wrote. “Sanders has been good enough this spring to make coaches believe he’s worthy of more chances this summer”. Assessing the Browns’ quarterback competition, he has seen “enough impressive throws to make me think Cleveland might be on to something with him”.
But he also downplayed even what he saw, noting HC Kevin Stefanski’s repeated overtures. Much of what the Browns are assessing as the quarterback competition ensues happens outside of the media’s eye. But, of course, the media, and we, can only go on what is available.
Cleveland traded for Kenny Pickett earlier this offseason, signing Joe Flacco as a free agent for a reunion. They drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round, then added Shedeur Sanders in the fifth. The Browns insist they mean to have a legitimate four-way quarterback competition, but that’s hard to pull off.
Adding to the fracas is Deshaun Watson, the Browns’ nominal starting quarterback whose failures and health precipitated this competition. Recovering from an Achilles injury, the prevailing assumption is he will be unavailable for at least some time. But if he has an accelerated recovery and is ready to play, what do they do then?
My guess is they would not play him, essentially writing off his future with the team. When the owner already publicly admits it was a horrible mistake, it’s kind of hard to recover from that. The Browns wouldn’t be staging a four-way competition to find another quarterback if Watson showed any legitimate long-term promise.
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