Kirk Herbstreit Delivers Bold Claim on Cleveland Browns' QB Situation

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit has offered his bold thoughts on the Cleveland Browns' quarterback competition.

ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit answers questions during Media Day for the College Football Playoff against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta on Jan. 18, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns currently have one heck of a quarterback competition underway in training camp, with four players battling for the starting job.

Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel are the contestants, and while the average fan is probably rooting for Sanders to win the role, that probably isn't going to happen. At least not for Week 1.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit has opened up on how he feels about the Browns' situation under center, and he doesn't feel like Sanders is ready to start just yet.

"He’s only playing with the younger guys, and he’s still in a developmental role," Herbstreit told D.J. Siddiqi of The Escapist. "That’s pretty common for a (draft) pick. It takes time to make that adjustment. My guess would be he makes the team, but he’s more in a developmental role.”

Considering Sanders was a fifth-round pick, it definitely makes sense that Cleveland would be be entirely eager to hand him the job right off the bat, especially considering that the Browns' pieces around him are not exactly top notch at the moment.

Herbstreit feels that the answer is Flacco.

“If I’m the Browns, you got to go with a guy like Flacco, just because two years ago, he was the NFL Comeback Player of the Year because of what he did in Cleveland," Herbstreit added. "You hang your hat on him and hope he can stay healthy for most of the year.”

The general consensus seems to be that Flacco will begin 2025 as the starter and that perhaps one of the two rookies — Sanders or Gabriel — will replace him at some point during the season. But if Flacco plays well all year, we might not even see Sanders or Gabriel at all.

We'll see how things unfold as we get deeper into camp.

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