Cleveland Browns Insider Reveals Favorite For Starting Quarterback Position

It’s still up in the air who will start for the Cleveland Browns at quarterback through nine practices of training camp.

Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel continues to fight for the starting role against rookie Shedeur Sanders, NFL veteran Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. Even though Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski has kept quiet about who might snag the start in week 1, The Athletic’s Zac Jackson believes Flacco is the frontrunner.

Oregon Ducks Cleveland Browns Dillon Gabriel Joe Flacco Shedeur Sanders Kenny Pickett Quarterback NFL — Jul 26, 2025; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) during training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

“Neither of the rookies ever had much of a realistic chance to win the starting job this August,” Jackson wrote. “And over the last week, Flacco has gone from presumed favorite to strong favorite.”

On Saturday’s practice, only Flacco and Gabriel took part in team drills. Sanders dealt with arm soreness, while Pickett hasn’t practiced fully since July 27 with a hamstring injury.

Looking Beyond 2025

With two quarterbacks sitting out, it gives the rookie Gabriel more opportunity to move up in the competition. Instead, he stumbled with his worst day of camp on Friday. Gabriel completed only three of his 14 passes and threw an interception.

Meanwhile, Flacco has had two of his best throwing days on Friday and Saturday. The 40-year-old quarterback is certainly the most experienced of the bunch, winning the Super Bowl MVP in 2012 and, most recently, winning Comeback Player of the Year in his first stint with the Browns in 2023.

But Cleveland still has to decide what it wants its future to look like past the 2025 season. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said in his training camp press conference that the franchise needs to play at least one of the two rookie quarterbacks this season to determine what to do with the Browns’ two 2026 first-round picks.

“(Coach Steanski) is aware of that,” Haslam said. “He knows how important quarterback is, and he and (general manager Andrew Berry) talk about those kinds of things all the time. It’s a daily ongoing conversation.”

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Dillon Gabriel’s Outlook

There’s still time for the other three quarterbacks to gain traction and win the starting role in Week 1. Despite Gabriel’s recent struggles, he seems to be ahead of Sanders in the Browns’ pecking order, having more reps.

Cleveland was eager to draft the former Duck, trading up for the No. 94 pick to select him in the third round. Fans were shocked to see Sanders fall to the fifth round of the draft, where the Browns eventually picked him No. 144.

Gabriel showed how he can lead a team, taking Oregon to the Rose Bowl in the quarterfinals in the College Football Playoffs last season. He shone individually with a third-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting.

For an older rookie quarterback (Gabriel will turn 25 in December), he’ll likely need to make major strides in training camp to earn a starting role, especially given that other young, exciting quarterbacks will be available to the Browns next spring.

Both Gabriel and Sanders might have limited time for an opportunity with Cleveland because the franchise could quickly pivot to selecting a quarterback such as Penn State’s Drew Allar, Clemson’s T.J. Parker or even Texas quarterback Arch Manning if he were to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft.