The quarterback question will be a big one for the Browns as they enter the 2025 season with a plethora of options at the position.
But one Browns insider believes that one quarterback in Cleveland already has the upper hand in the battle for the starter role.
Mary Kay Cabot from Cleveland.com considers Kenny Pickett to be the top contender for the position among a pool of candidates that features Joe Flacco, Deshaun Watson, and newcomers Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
“Choosing is difficult before even witnessing the first organized team activities practice, but I believe Kenny Pickett enters as the leading candidate for the starting role initially. He’s set to begin taking the primary first-team reps in OTAs and likely during the compulsory minicamp. For now, it appears the position is his to hold onto,” reported Cabot.
Last season, Pickett had limited appearances with the Eagles, participating in five games. During his time on the field, he completed 59.5% of his passes and threw for 291 yards.
Prior to that, he played two seasons in Pittsburgh, during which he threw for over 2,000 yards in 2022 and 2023.
But the Browns complicated their QB situation further by drafting Gabriel and then taking Sanders in the later rounds, creating quite the stir, especially with so much attention already on Sanders and the Browns clearly needing a quarterback of the future.
For the time being, one of the veterans will be holding the reins at QB, with the early indications pointing to Pickett, though Cabot did suggest that Flacco would make a strong case as well.
“Flacco’s big arm will dazzle in camp, and it will be hard to keep him off the field, especially because he’ll fighting so hard to win the battle,” she wrote.
One thing that does seem sure is that Watson seems to be the one vet that isn’t expected to get the starter’s job.
