The Browns’ QB1 job is apparently Joe Flacco’s to lose entering spring practices.
According to Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated, speaking on “The Rich Eisen Show,” it seems that the Super Bowl-winning quarterback is set to take the lead role in Cleveland. This comes after the Browns acquired several quarterbacks during the offseason, as starter Deshaun Watson continues to recover from his Achilles injury.
“I believe Joe Flacco will likely be the one taking the initial snap this spring, and that carries some importance,” Breer mentioned regarding the 40-year-old quarterback. Flacco is currently in his second tenure with the Browns, following an unexpected playoff appearance in 2023.
“Last year, [Steelers coach] Mike Tomlin referred to a similar situation as ‘pole position’ when discussing his own quarterback lineup. In this case, I think Joe Flacco holds that prime spot.”
Flacco, who spent last season with the Colts, will compete for the starting job against Kenny Pickett, a 2022 first-round pick with the Steelers, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Pickett, fresh off a Super Bowl win with the Eagles, was traded to the Browns in March after serving as Jalen Hurts’ backup for one year.
Although Flacco may be poised to get “the first snap in the spring,” Breer noted things could change with Pickett, 26, come training camp in the summer.
“The guarantees in Joe Flacco’s deal and Kenny Pickett’s deal are almost identical to one another. So, walking away from either guy would more or less have the same penalty. So, even though Joe Flacco gets the first snap in the spring, that doesn’t mean, like, Kenny Pickett won’t get the first snap in the summer or that Joe Flacco is gonna make the team if Kenny Pickett wins the job,” Breer said.
Cleveland has several key decisions to make before the season begins, including who the backup quarterback will be and which quarterbacks will be on the final roster.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday how the Browns “look at the roster through the prism of value and currency,” with an insider suggesting it “could lead to an eventual trade if injuries happen across the league.”
Gabriel was taken 94th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft while Sanders, the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, slid to the fifth round and was taken at No. 144.
The Browns are coming off a disastrous 3-14 campaign that saw a rotation at quarterback following Watson’s season-ending Achilles injury in October.
He re-injured his Achilles earlier this year.
Watson’s Browns tenure has been a $230 million disappointment, with owner Jimmy Haslam saying as much in March.
“We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun,” Haslam said of the quarterback, who signed a five-year, fully guaranteed deal with the team after a trade with the Texans in 2022.
Maybe, just maybe, one of the four QBs Browns brass brought in this offseason will be the hit they so desperately need.
