The Cleveland Browns’ training camp has been completely dominated by the quarterback battle. Four players are fighting for the starting job-veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, along with rookies Dillon Gabriel and the high-profile Shedeur Sanders, who was drafted this year.
Any team that drafted Shedeur Sanders was going to face this kind of situation-the media spotlight squarely on him. That may even be one of the reasons teams chose to pass on him. He was once considered a first-round pick, but he dropped all the way to the fifth round.
According to Head Coach Kevin Stefanski, the “competition is open,” but it seems likely he will go with one of the veterans-either Flacco or Pickett. Still, the pressure will be on Stefanski to make the right decisions each game.
Kenny Pickett is being overlooked-and that might be unfair
The reality is that Browns insiders mostly talk about Joe Flacco as the likely starter, or suggest Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders could pull off a surprise. But almost nobody is considering Kenny Pickett, who was a first-round pick by the Steelers in 2022.
Pickett was also the first quarterback the Browns signed in free agency-before Joe Flacco, before Sanders or Gabriel were drafted. That suggests Stefanski saw something in Pickett that could be critical in the weeks ahead as decisions are made.
NFL analyst Aditi Kinkhabwala shared her thoughts on The Ken Carman Show, saying:
“I really don’t understand why nobody gives [Pickett] the benefit of the doubt… everyone writes him off before he even gets a chance.”
And that doubt may be warranted-in 24 games over two seasons with the Steelers, Pickett didn’t do much to impress. That’s likely why Mike Tomlin moved on. He also saw very limited playing time with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Still, we’ll see what Coach Stefanski decides, but it’s worth remembering: Kenny Pickett was the first quarterback Cleveland signed this offseason.
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