The NFL preseason is officially underway across the league after the Philadelphia Eagles took care of business in a 34-27 victory over a Cincinnati Bengals squad that played several key starters for the entire first quarter.
With Jalen Hurts not seeing the field in that exhibition game, Tanner McKee put on an absolute show for Philadelphia fans. The backup QB connected on 20/25 attempts for 252 yards and two touchdown passes. He also added a one-yard rushing score as the icing on the cake of what was a near-perfect performance.
While McKee was exquisite in his opportunity, a former Eagles QB did not enjoy the same type of success in the opening weekend of preseason play. In fact, he didn't see the field at all. Now, Cleveland Browns signal-caller Kenny Pickett could be in danger of losing the stranglehold he appeared to have on the QB1 job in Cleveland due to injury issues.
> [#Browns](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Browns?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Kevin Stefanski said Dillon Gabriel will return to 11-on-11 work today. Kenny Pickett still not ready for full team.
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> — Camryn Justice (@camijustice) [August 11, 2025](https://twitter.com/camijustice/status/1954890959805673500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Ex-Eagles QB Kenny Pickett in Danger of Losing Starting Job with Browns
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Kenny Pickett has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since late July and, as of Monday, still is not ready to participate in full team practices, according to Camryn Justice of News 5 Cleveland. With just two preseason games remaining before the stakes are raised in Week 1, one would think that Kevin Stefanski would prefer to see Pickett work in a live game situation before just handing him the keys to the offense.
This is precisely why Joe Flacco is on Cleveland's roster. Neither Dillon Gabriel nor Shedeur Sanders will be QB1 coming out of the preseason. That is going to be a given, barring injury to the two veterans ahead of them on the depth chart. Given his experience in the league and the proven track record that comes with it, Flacco will be a safer bet in Week 1 if Pickett is deemed unfit to play on Saturday night against the Eagles.
If, or when, Pickett loses that chance to be QB1, there is no guarantee it will be handed back to him once he is fully healthy. Flacco may be on the wrong side of 40 years old, but he proved this past season as a member of the Indianapolis Colts that he can still play the game at an NFL level by throwing for 1,761 yards and 12 touchdowns to just seven interceptions in eight appearances in 2024.
There will likely be a point during the year when winning is no longer the primary goal of the Browns. That is when we could see the coaching staff shift its attention to developing those rookie quarterbacks by giving them opportunities to play during the regular season.
Pickett needs to figure out a way to get on the field and start contributing sooner rather than later or the opportunity he thought he would have in Cleveland to prove his worth to the rest of the league could pass him by before it ever starts.
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