Joe Flacco was atop the Cleveland Browns’ initial depth chart at quarterback ahead of the team’s first preseason game on Friday. The 40-year-old Flacco is currently ahead of veteran Kenny Pickett at No. 2 and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
Availability is surely one of the main reasons why Flacco is currently slated as the Browns’ starting quarterback. While Flacco has remained healthy, each of the Browns’ other three quarterbacks have dealt with injuries during the first two-plus weeks of training camp.
Pickett, who received a significant portion of the first-team reps at the start of camp, missed three consecutive practices after injuring his hamstring on July 26. He recently returned to practice in a limited capacity.
Gabriel, the 94th pick in this year’s draft, was limited during Monday’s practice due to tightness in his hamstring. When he has been healthy, Gabriel has reportedly struggled with his accuracy as he and Sanders continue to get acclimated to the NFL game.
Sanders, the team’s fifth-round pick, did not participate in team drills during Saturday’s practice due to arm soreness. Sanders, who was back at practice on Monday, said that he had previously dealt with arm soreness in college.
With these injuries lingering, the Browns are reportedly signing Tyler Huntley to have an extra arm available during this week’s joint practices.
Shedeur Sanders held out of team drills in Browns training camp with first preseason game coming up
Cody Nagel
Flacco’s spot atop the depth chart is likely a byproduct of both his performances in practice as well as his continued availability. Pickett, who has been determined to win the starting job since he arrived in Cleveland via a trade back in March, had been enjoying a solid camp prior to his hamstring injury.
“I thought Kenny had a strong block there,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Friday. “He did use his mobility a couple times there and is a fast player. He can really run. I thought he had a good four days.”
What’s next for the Browns quarterback competition?
While it’s important to take initial depth charts at face value, Flacco’s spot on at the top is something to take note of.
The Browns almost certainly won’t have more than three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, and they will risk losing one of them if they try to stash someone on the practice squad (of their current quarterbacks, Huntley would the one most likely to end up on the practice squad). That means that there is a likely scenario where the Browns trade a quarterback between now and the start of the regular season.
Regarding Gabriel’s position on the depth chart, that might be a case of the Browns simply putting the higher drafted rookie ahead of the other. It’s also an easy way to muzzle some of the outside expectations on Sanders, who, besides his minor injury setback, has been enjoying a solid camp.
Given his upside, the odds of the Browns trading Sanders is slim. The Browns trading Flacco is also slim given his age and experience running Stefanski’s offense. That leaves Pickett and Gabriel as the two most likely trade options if the Browns decide to go that route.
Kenny Pickett explains determination to win Browns starting QB job despite recent hamstring injury
Bryan DeArdo
At this point, the Browns would likely get more for Pickett given his experience (25 career regular season starts) and pedigree as a former first-round pick. If the Browns truly look at Flacco as their starting quarterback three weeks from now, the odds of them trading Pickett to a QB-needy team look pretty good. That could change, however, if Pickett outplays his older teammate during the final weeks of training camp. That would leave Gabriel or Sanders as the odd man out.
Given all of these possible scenarios, the Browns’ three preseason games should offer more intrigue than the usual exhibition games, starting with Friday night’s showdown against the Panthers in Carolina.
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