Browns QB Competition Takes Unexpected Turn After Key Injury

Former first-round pick Kenny Pickett is now expected to miss some time after suffering hamstring injury at Cleveland Browns training camp

Cleveland Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) runs drills during NFL training camp practice at the Cleveland Browns training facility, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns four-way quarterback competition took an unexpected turn over the weekend.

Per multiple reports and confirmed by Cleveland Browns on SI, three-year veteran Kenny Pickett suffered a hamstring injury toward the end of the team's opening week of training camp.

ESPN's Adam Schefter was first to report the news. He's expected to miss some time due to the ailment and be re-evaluated later in camp.

Pickett practiced each of the first four days of practice without any noticeable health issues, and even took the final snap of Saturday's session, throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Blake Whiteheart to wrap up the final red zone play of the day.

The 2022 first-round pick is in the thick of a hotly contested QB competition that also includes 17-year veteran Joe Flacco and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.

Pickett is considered one of the favorites to land the job after the Browns traded for the ex-Steelers quarterback during the offseason.

The 27-year-old spent the 2024 season with the Philadelphia Eagles, serving as a backup to Jalen Hurts en route to the team'team's Super Bowl title.

Cleveland sent a 2024 fifth-round pick and former fifth-rounder Dorian Thompson-Robinson to Philly in the deal.

Pickett had taken a healthy number of first team reps throughout each other the first four practices this week. Suddenly, for the forseeable future there will be more reps to go around Flacco, Gabriel and Sanders.

While the team is off on Sunday, Monday represents the first practice that things will really ramp up, as the team plans to put on full pads for the first time.