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Daniel Oyefusi
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns on Monday named veteran Joe Flacco their starting quarterback to open the 2025 season. The decision brings an end to what opened as a four-way quarterback competition but had an anticlimactic finish with Flacco emerging as the runaway favorite.
Flacco, 40, has taken the overwhelming majority of first-team reps in training camp as fourth-year quarterback Kenny Pickett has been limited since suffering a hamstring injury July 26. Rookie third-round pick Dillon Gabriel has also received first-team reps, but he missed the preseason opener with a hamstring injury. Rookie fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders, who has not received any first-team reps, missed the team’s second preseason game because of an oblique injury suffered last week.
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• The massive draft capital the Browns hold in 2026 only underscores the need for the franchise to further evaluate its young quarterbacks sooner rather than later — a reality owner Jimmy Haslam acknowledged in late July. When asked if it’s important to see Gabriel and Sanders on the field in game situations before using their first-round picks in 2026, Haslam answered, “Absolutely, absolutely.” “Kevin is aware of that, he knows how important quarterback is, and he and Andrew talk about those kinds of things all the time,” Haslam said. “It’s a daily, ongoing conversation.” The sheer number of first-team reps Gabriel — a six-year college player at UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon — has received this summer signaled the Browns believe he could be ready to see the field soon. Sanders — a four-year player at FCS school Jackson State and Colorado — has been brought along slower as QB4 on the depth chart. However, he impressed with a two-touchdown performance in the Browns’ preseason opener against the