The Browns quarterback competition is coming to a close soon.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski told the media on Sunday that the team plans to announce their starting quarterback in the next week. What remains unclear is how many quarterbacks they will carry on their 53-man roster by the time the season starts. The Browns have four quarterbacks competing for the starting job—Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders—but it is uncommon to keep four quarterbacks on the active roster.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry indicated earlier this summer that they are open to potentially keeping four quarterbacks on the roster. The team has yet to come to a decision on how many quarterbacks they will keep, but Stefanski seemed to acknowledge Sunday that’s it’s not the most likely option.
“I think we’ll let it play out as we get closer to the cut down,” Stefanski told reporters, via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. “Those are all conversations that we are always having, but those are tough decisions. You know, I’d like to keep everybody, but not realistic.”
What makes the decision tricky for the Browns is that three of their quarterbacks—Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders—have dealt with injuries during camp, preventing the team from getting a full look at each player during the competition. Gabriel and Sanders have each started a preseason game for Cleveland, but neither Pickett nor Flacco have seen any action yet.
If the Browns decide not to keep all four quarterbacks, it feels most likely that they would keep Flacco and Gabriel. Flacco is first on the team’s unofficial depth chart, and since he has stayed healthy and is the most experienced, it makes sense for him to be the initial starter.
Gabriel is the Browns’ third-round pick this year, which also makes him an unlikely trade candidate. As the team’s fifth-round draft pick, Sanders also seems likely to remain with Cleveland, but it wouldn’t be as implausible for him to be traded or released.
This line of thinking would make Pickett the odd man out, but it’s also unclear how the Browns fully view Pickett and the situation, especially as he remains limited because of injury. The Browns will likely have to make their decision on all four quarterbacks by Aug. 27, the deadline for rosters to be cut down to 53.
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