At least for one day, the Cleveland Browns’ four-man quarterback competition was down to two.
Rookie Shedeur Sanders did not participate in any competitive drills during Saturday morning’s practice. It wasn’t until after practice that the team provided an update, via a Browns spokesperson: Sanders was held out due to “arm soreness.” Cleveland.com reported that Sanders told the team’s medical staff he was feeling some soreness during early-practice individual drills, and that Sanders would be further evaluated Saturday afternoon.
Sanders had been a full participant in each of the team’s eight previous practices. He was fourth in line throughout the spring and early part of training camp before Kenny Pickett suffered a hamstring injury that forced Pickett to miss three practices earlier this week.
Pickett was back at practice Friday and Saturday as a limited participant, mostly taking part in individual drills. With only two quarterbacks fully available on Saturday, Joe Flacco got 26 reps in competitive drills and rookie Dillon Gabriel got 25. There was some mixing and matching of personnel groups, but Flacco played almost exclusively with the No. 1 offensive line and Gabriel operated the second and third offensive units, outside of one drill with mostly starters.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has said he has no firm timeline for naming a regular-season starter or finalizing a depth chart, but the Browns are headed toward their most important evaluation points with question marks about availability. Cleveland will hold a joint practice session in Charlotte with the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 6 before the Aug. 8 preseason opener for both teams. The following week, the Browns practice twice with the Eagles in Philadelphia ahead of an Aug. 16 preseason game.
Flacco’s two best throwing days were Friday and Saturday, while Gabriel has struggled with accuracy and stringing together completions. With Flacco seemingly in the lead for now, Pickett told reporters it’s “frustrating to not be out there competing” but said he understands he can’t rush back and risk making the injury worse.
Both Pickett and Stefanski said it’s too early to know if Pickett will be able to participate in Carolina next week. Stefanski’s standard daily news conference was held before practice Saturday, and he did not reveal any potential issues or limitations with Sanders.
After practice Saturday, Pickett and Gabriel threw some one-on-one drills to some of the Browns’ young wide receivers and tight ends. Sanders jogged on a different practice field with the team’s older wide receivers, but he did not throw. The Browns have held opportunity periods after four previous practices during which Gabriel and Sanders have split extra reps equally in different competitive settings.
Sanders is the only one of the four who hasn’t taken at least some reps with the No. 1 starters. Stefanski has not revealed his plans for playing time in the preseason opener next Friday, and now he might have to stay flexible with those plans based on availability.
Sunday is a day off for Browns players. The team will practice Monday afternoon before flying to Charlotte Tuesday.
(Photo: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
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