Browns Camp Erupts: QB Carousel Spins Wild as Watson, Bell & Ford Sit Out—First Practice Is Chaos!

Training camp is officially here as the Cleveland Browns practiced for the first time ahead of the 2025 season. It's the first of a handful of milestones the team will hit on their 46-day march to the start of the regular season.

Of course, camp always opens up with players wearing strictly helmets, leaving plenty of room for deeper evaluation once the full pads come on next week, there was still plenty to see on the opening day of camp.

Here are the highlights from the day and updates from the Browns open competition at quarterback.

Absences

Several players began camp with specified injury designations that left them M.I.A. on day one of practice, including WR David Bell on the active/non-football injury list, and DT Mike Hall Jr. and QB Deshaun Watson, who are both on the active/physically unable to perform list. Those were the known absences on Wednesday.

Once practice began, however, it wasn't hard to notice that running back Jerome Ford wasn't present. He is apparently nursing a minor injury. Also missing were tight end David Njoku and linebacker Jordan Hicks, both of whom were excused for personal reasons.

Of course, rookie running back Quinshon Judkins was also not present for the start of camp, as he continues dealing with his ongoing legal situation in Florida, following an arrest for a domestic violence and battery charge.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski did speak on the matter for the first time, and while he did his usual dodging the subject, he expressed that they weren't taking the situation lightly.

"I would tell you again, this is something I take very seriously, we take very seriously," he said. "It's not something that we want to be a part of. We want to be shining the light on the good things that our guys are doing in this community. Having said that, I do know we go, the league mandates a certain amount of education in all areas, certainly in this area, and we decide to go above and beyond that and we will continue to do that. And if there's more ways that we can reach players in any area in area of education, we'll continue to look at that."

QB Competition Latest

We know what the people want, so, yes, there will be a section reserved in this piece every day for a QB competition update.

Practice opened up with a rotation of Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, in that order, during some of the early throwing drills. Then came 7-on-7 work, where the QBs were split between different fields with the vets together on one field and the rookies together on another, similar to how the team managed reps back in the spring.

11-on-11 snaps were also handled the same way they were during minicamp, with Pickett running the first team offense, Gabriel running the second team offense and Sanders running the third team offense, while Flacco looked on. It's obvious at this juncture of camp that the 40-year-old still has a first-round bye in this competition.

As for the results, Pickett had a strong day, completing six of his seven attempts combined across the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work. Gabriel had the exact same marks, with a really nice touchdown throw as well. Gabriels one completion came during 11-on-11s on a ball that was way too high for Diontae Johnson.

Sanders, meanwhile, had what was undeniably his most inconsistent day throwing. He just didn't seem to be seeing the field well and was late on a number of throws.

There is, obviously, a lot that still has to unfold with the QB competition in general, so for now things can be described as "status quo."

Play of the Day

This one belongs to Gabriel today. Who ran the nifty play below during his portion of 11-on-11 work with the twos. The rookie booted to his left with the receivers running levels to the same direction, but stops and throws back to his right to Gage Larvadain.

Larvadain was lined up away from the rollout and ran a post corner to free himself up for a perfect throw, which he pulled in and took the rest of the way for a touchdown. Pickett's over-the-middle throw to Jerry Jeudy several minutes prior was a close second.

Player of the Day

Undrafted rookie wide receiver Luke Floriea stood out on the first day of practice, particularly during the modified 7-on-7 drills. Running with the rookie QBs, Floriea quickly became a favorite target for Gabriel throughout the session and made a few nice catches in the process.

In a wide receiver room that's lacking experience, Floriea may just find himself in the mix to earn a spot on this roster if day one of camp is a sign of things to come.

Quote of the Day

Despite what Myles Garrett may have thought about the state of the Browns back in February when he requested a trade, his goal remains the same heading into a 2025 season where Cleveland isn't viewed as much of a threat. That didn't stop him from opening up camp by establishing some lofty expectations for the franchise:

"I mean, I expect to get to the Super Bowl. That's our expectation every year. I expect to run back to Defensive Player of the Year, so keeping both those things in mind, I have to be the very best player I can be every single day, whether we're practicing or playing. As soon as I step in the building, I have to be best version of myself and the best leader I can possibly be."

What's Next?

The Browns will practice again on Thursday. Kevin Stefanski will address the media about 30 minutes before practice before the team takes the field around 4:25 p.m., once again.