Browns HC Says It's 'Not Realistic' to Keep 4 QBs as Shedeur Battles for Roster Spot

The Cleveland Browns are currently rostering Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders and Kenny Pickett at quarterback, but it seems unlikely all four will make the final cut for the 53-man roster

"I think we'll let it play out as we get closer to the cut down," head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Sunday. "Those are all conversations that we are always having, but those are tough decisions. You know, I'd like to keep everybody, but not realistic."

Stefanski also told reporters he plans to name his starter shortly, which will allow the Browns to use their final preseason game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams as a dress rehearsal for the regular season.

"Obviously we'll name a starter. It's going to come this week," he said. "We still anticipate all of our players, whether you're a starter or not, to prepare like you're the starter and knowing all of our players in that room, that's exactly what they'll do."

Flacco is the likely choice, and it's hard to imagine the Browns cutting ties with third-round pick Gabriel or fifth-round pick Sanders already. That leaves Pickett as the most likely man out if the Browns trim the depth chart at quarterback.

Another factor to consider is that Gabriel (hamstring), Sanders (oblique) and Pickett (hamstring) have all dealt with injuries this summer. Stefanski has been happy with what he's seen from all four quarterbacks, however.

"We take this all the way back to April with our player development and getting these guys up to speed," he said. "And I've been really, really pleased with that group and how hard they've worked, how they've pushed each other, and they're all getting better. You see all moments in practice, you see moments in games where these guys are getting better. Obviously like you mentioned, injuries are the worst part of this game and it keeps a guy out of a practice or a game that that's not ideal. But I go all the way back to April with the work that these guys have put in."

Keeping all four remains a possibility, but it would cost the Browns a much-needed roster spot. Most NFL teams only carry two quarterbacks on the game-day roster and utilize an emergency quarterback. It's extremely rare to see four quarterbacks rostered.

If either Gabriel or Sanders were placed on the practice squad, meanwhile, they would almost assuredly be scooped up by another team with haste. But if the Browns don't feel confident putting either on the field in a backup role behind the 40-year-old Flacco, assuming that's how the depth chart shakes out, cutting Pickett isn't ideal either.

So the Browns—who created one of the more bizarre quarterback rooms in recent memory with their offseason decisions, all because they previously whiffed terribly on the Deshaun Watson trade-and-extension—now find themselves choosing between less roster flexibility at other positions or moving on from one of the four quarterbacks they added in the offseason. It's not exactly ideal.