The Cleveland Browns have five quarterbacks on the roster heading into the 2025 NFL season, including former Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski discussed the quarterback decision, saying no one has the leg up.
Of the five quarterbacks, veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson is recovering from an achilles injury and will miss time in 2025. The other quarterbacks on the roster fifth-round draft pick Shedeur Sanders and veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.
Stefanski appeared on "The Ken Carman Show With Anthony Lima," and was asked if he would say if there is a current quarterback that is leading the pack.
“Yeah, I’m not willing to tell you,” Stefanski said. “I got the quarterback question only 30 times or so from the kids.”
“It’s more, ‘Hey, you got four of them, who's starting?' I said, 'It’s early guys. Let’s get through the offseason,'” Stefanski said.
Although the belief is that Flacco had the edge as the starter being a veteran and having experience playing on Stefanski’s offense, that may not be the case. There is a long offseason ahead, and Cleveland will be giving each quarterback a chance.
Gabriel and the Ducks had an undefeated regular season in 2024. He finished the season with 3,857 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Gabriel is a talented quarterback, finishing the season with a 72.9 completion percentage.
Gabriel had a strong rookie minicamp with the Browns throwing accurate passes during drills. Gabriel was always a target for the Browns, with the only quarterback ranked higher in the draft being No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.
“Realistically, Joe’s probably not starting 17 games this year. You know, he’s been a very durable quarterback through the course of his career, but, the odds that at 41 years old, I believe he is, that he’s going to play the entire season, you probably say that’s an unlikely scenario,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said. “So, based on what I hear, it sounds like it’s wide open, it sounds like they’re going in with open minds into this competition."
The Cleveland Browns’ OTAs will begin on May 27-29 and June 3-5 and will be followed by the mandatory veteran minicamp on June 10-12. While Stefanski said during the rookie minicamp that people should not pay too close attention to the number of reps each quarterback has, it will be something to watch as the offseason workouts progress and throughout the preseason.
ESPN Cleveland reported veteran quarterback Pickett and rookie Gabriel will get No. 1 and No. 2 reps at the start of OTAs, which could show Gabriel is already proving himself. While it is a competition, the quarterbacks on the roster have shown nothing but respect for one another and are excited to work together.
“I love it because of who it is. I think just for us both, you can learn from one another, but also it’s not just us in the room. At least for right now, it is. But going into the year, Kenny [Pickett], Joe [Flacco], and even Deshaun [Watson]. Just a bunch of guys who played a bunch of ball that we can all learn from one another,” Gabriel said about Sanders during rookie minicamp in Berea.
The regular season for the Cleveland Browns kicks off on Sept. 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals. After a summer of working to show the team why he is deserving of the starting role, Gabriel could be the No. 1 quarterback when the season kicks off.
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