If you have two quarterbacks, then you might actually have none. It’s an adage in the NFL, where most teams are in a perpetual hunt for a transcendent talent under center. The Cleveland Browns just might be taking the practice to a new level in 2025, three years after regrettably selling the farm for Deshaun Watson.
Watson, of course, is all but out of the picture this year, and perhaps for good, as he recovers from a serious injury … and an unofficial farewell from team owner Jimmy Haslam. Even so, the Browns are reportedly prepared to carry four different quarterbacks on their 2025 roster after acquiring all four this offseason.
Kenny Pickett was the first to come aboard, added via trade from the Philadelphia Eagles. Then came Joe Flacco, the 40-year-old journeyman who briefly captivated Browns fans as the club’s emergency starter back in 2023. Finally, Cleveland stunned the rest of the league in April’s draft, picking not one but two passers in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, whose high-profile slide became the talk of the entire event.
Not a single one of the Browns’ four new quarterbacks may inspire a ton of confidence on their own. But what if we could blend each of their best attributes into a single quarterback? Would there be enough talent to give the Browns the long-awaited franchise difference-maker they’ve been craving? We decided to give it a try.
Consider this an exercise in identifying the top traits of each quarterback vying for snaps in Cleveland’s crowded quarterback room. Perhaps it’ll help Browns fans decide their own favorite to claim the top job this fall:
Best attributes: Experience and arm strength
The minute Flacco reunited with the Browns on a one-year deal this April, he became the presumptive Week 1 starter, at least to this analyst. That’s not because he oozes upside at 40 years old, fresh off an uneven run as the Indianapolis Colts’ backup. It’s because he easily offers the highest floor of any healthy quarterback on the roster. That’s what close to two decades in the NFL will do for you. There’s a base level of savviness here, and the fact Flacco still possesses elite size (6-6, 230) means he’s also the most effortless big-play thrower of the bunch. The Browns might still opt to start him on the bench as they did in 2023, but coach Kevin Stefanski knows what he’s getting in the former Baltimore Ravens standout: a sturdy, if streaky, veteran who knows the system.
Best attributes: Mobility and situational grit
The first addition to the Browns’ remade quarterback room, Pickett is perhaps the biggest wild card of the quartet. Just three years ago, he was a top-25 pick of the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, tabbed the long-term successor for Ben Roethlisberger, only to be saddled with iffy protection, iffy weapons and even iffier coaching from a short-lived offensive coordinator. Relegated to No. 2 duties with the Eagles in 2024, he’s yet to show he can manage a legitimate passing workload at the NFL level. His brief Steelers tenure confirmed his rugged play-extending skills in crunch time, however, as he led six fourth-quarter comebacks and seven game-winning drives from 2022-2023. If it’s both pro experience and backyard-style toughness the Browns are after, Pickett may quietly be the best bet.
Best attributes: Vision and short-area accuracy
Gabriel’s arrival was noteworthy in part because he wasn’t Shedeur Sanders, whose draft-day fall to the fifth round had countless experts scratching their heads. The left-handed Oregon product lacks prototypical NFL size at 5-foot-11, and he’ll be 25 by the time his rookie season concludes. There are legitimate questions as to whether his ability to read the field or push the ball deep will translate to the pro stage, considering his physical limitations. Yet he drew rave reviews coming out of college for his crisp timing and touch on shorter-range throws. That kind of fundamentally sound aerial work could appeal to coach Kevin Stefanski, even if his off-script tools are debatable.
Best attributes: Composure and downfield touch
The hottest topic of the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders’ stunning fall from projected first-round pick to fifth-round afterthought may have been a greater indictment of his family’s outsized personality than his on-field attributes. The big-name Colorado product, whose father, Deion Sanders, was one of the NFL’s splashiest playmakers of his time, may have put too much emphasis on hitting home runs from the pocket during his sack-riddled time running the Buffaloes offense. Still, he showed NFL-level poise as more of an old-school pocket passer, especially when using timing and anticipation on deeper shots. It’s possible his humbling entry to the NFL could aid him as well.
Add Comment