Days go by and the Cleveland Browns still haven’t decided who of their five candidates will be the team’s QB1.
Their 2024 starter, Deshaun Watson, wants to recover from his Achilles injury and get back on the field. However, he is likely to miss much of this season.
40-year-old Joe Flacco is fighting for a chance and is one of the candidates to keep the starting job. Kenny Pickett, 26, also wants to finally establish himself as the team’s quarterback, but they are not the only ones with dreams to fulfill.
After the 2025 NFL Draft, two players were added to the Browns’ rosters: 24-year-old Dillon Gabriel with the 94th pick and 23-year-old Shedeur Sanders at 144th.
Although Cleveland has yet to release its official QB1, Shedeur has given head coach Kevin Stefanski food for thought.
Stefanski in trouble after Sanders’ arrival
As part of the organized team activities (OTAs), the Browns head coach has had to rethink his strategy because of the former Colorado Buffaloes QB. His performance, energy, enthusiasm, dynamism and focus have broken the 43-year-old coach out of the mold and opened up his range of opportunities.
His youth would give another even more tantalizing vision to the team going forward and Stefanski would be willing to reevaluate and explore all of his avenues, potentially rewriting the playbook to accommodate a player like Sanders. And not just at the quarterback position, but he could extend that to the entire Cleveland Browns.
Still, while Sanders shines with his skill set, Flacco has plenty of playoff experience and has a standout career, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he finds himself in a position he’s not used to if Stefanski so chooses. However, this would mean an opportunity for reinvention in his life: while pushing his own limits, he would impart his wisdom and mentorship to Sanders to take the team to the top.
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