When the Cleveland Browns up line up on offense for the first time in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, it will likely be one of the team's two healthy veteran quarterbacks—Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett—under center. The quarterback battle also features the team's two 2025 draftees, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, and both have the chance to make things very interesting this summer.
While Gabriel, a third-round pick, was the higher draft pick, all eyes have been on Sanders since his sldie from projected first-rounder to the fifth round. And according to Zac Jackson of , it has been Sanders who threatens to make this summer's QB battle "intriguing" thanks to the "accuracy and decisiveness he’s shown this spring."
Pickett has previously been reported as the clubhouse leader to win the job, but Jackson says that the former Pittsburgh Steelers first-rounder has been "unremarkable," and that Flacco is the favorite to suit up for Week 1. Sanders, meanwhile, has shown more than enough to make the roster and could even work his way up the depth chart with a strong summer, according to Jackson:
Sanders's numbers in seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills have been impressive. Coach Kevin Stefanski has stressed that the process is more important than the numbers themselves, but it sounds like Sanders is earning his spot in the conversation, at the very least.
