Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel Reportedly Part of 'Wide Open' Browns QB Competition

Rookie quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel are reportedly part of a "wide-open" competition to be the Cleveland Browns' starting signal-caller, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show (1:15 mark).

Right now, Cleveland has four healthy quarterbacks on the roster in veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett alongside Sanders and Gabriel. Cleveland also has Deshaun Watson, but he is expected to miss "significant time" during the 2025 season after suffering a "re-rupture to his Achilles tendon," per the Browns.

The season doesn't start for four months, so plenty can change between now and Week 1. However, it appears Flacco "has the leg up" on the competition at the moment, per Pelissero.

"Joe Flacco has the leg up because the coaches know him because he knows that system, he's functioned in that offense before. [Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski's] gone to the playoffs with him, he knows that he can trust Joe."

However, Pelissero also noted that Flacco, who turns 41 next January, may not start all 17 games, leading to his comments about this being a "wide open" competition.

"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, you know, the odds that at 41 years old, I believe he is, that he's going to play the entire season, you probably say that that's an unlikely type of a scenario.

"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 Browns are coming off a 3-14 season, though there's talent remaining from an 11-win squad that made the playoffs in 2023, when Flacco led the team to four wins down the stretch after signing late in the season.

Still, there's a massive question mark at QB1 right now. But for Sanders and Gabriel, that's a good thing as they have a chance to make their mark and potentially turns heads on the coaching staff.