The Cleveland Browns’ training camp is completely polarized by the competition among four quarterbacks for the starting position and, above all, for staying on the final roster – as it’s very unlikely all of them will remain on the team. The battle is between veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, along with rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Although he has not confirmed it to the media, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is reportedly planning to start Joe Flacco at least in Week 1 of the regular season. Flacco was already with the team in 2023 and, with 1,616 passing yards and 13 touchdown passes in 5 games, he led Cleveland to the playoffs.
It’s also worth remembering that there is a fifth quarterback – in fact, the highest-paid player on the Browns – Deshaun Watson. However, since joining the franchise in 2022 on a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract, he has been a complete disappointment.
Kenny Pickett has been the weakest competitor among the Browns’ quarterbacks
The first quarterback signed by the Cleveland Browns in free agency was Kenny Pickett, who came from the Philadelphia Eagles – the current Super Bowl champions. Pickett was the backup to Jalen Hurts but played in five regular-season games, starting one of them against the Dallas Cowboys.
Now with the Cleveland Browns, it has been leaked that Kenny Pickett has not been doing well in OTAs (organized team activities) and is the quarterback struggling the most in the competition, according to Aaron Goldhammer of ESPN Cleveland.
“The worst player in OTAs, by consensus: Kenny Pickett. The best quarterback in yesterday’s OTAs, based on what I heard – and I spoke with 20 people – consensus: Joe Flacco,” said Goldhammer.
As mentioned earlier in this article, Joe Flacco is the frontrunner for the starting job. However, he will have no room for error. As for Pickett, he might be the one chosen to be cut or traded, according to NFL analyst Mike Florio.
“I don’t think they’ll take all four into training camp. I think one of them will be cut or traded and replaced by a practice squad arm… Mark my words: they’re going to trade Kenny Pickett before camp,” said Florio.
Pickett was a first-round pick by the Steelers in 2022 and played his first two seasons there before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. He has started 24 games in the NFL.
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