Cleveland Browns NFL Training Camp: Joe Flacco To Start, Quinshon Judkins Arrested

The Cleveland Browns kick off 2025 training camp with major questions at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver—setting the stage for a summer full of drama, breakout potential, and fantasy football intrigue.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) throws a pass during mini camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns are kicking off training camp this week, and there are plenty of question marks surrounding this team, especially the offense. This is going to be one of the most interesting camps of the summer as they try to figure out who's going to be on their roster and in their lineup come September. These are the storylines to watch in Cleveland this summer. 

1. Is Joe Flacco The Week 1 Starter?

The Deshaun Watson trade and the contract he signed after may go down as the worst transaction any team in NFL history has ever made. It has left this franchise in a state of chaos. However, Watson's Achilles injury may be the out the team needed to justify moving on from their investment. This is now the most wide-open quarterback competition we have seen in recent memory. Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders will all battle for the starting job. 

Joe is ready for camp@JoeFlacco | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/50gXIXYzw8

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) July 22, 2025

We expect Flacco to be the Week 1 quarterback, but that is far from a lock. Even if he is the Week 1 starter, it's hard to imagine he'll hold that job for more than half the season. There is a chance that two of these quarterbacks don't even make the team's 53-man roster. Of course, all eyes will be on Sanders, whose draft night fall was well documented and highly covered. There is a chance that he ends the season as the Browns' starter or on another roster, and that's the story the people want to see play out.   

2. Quinshon Judkins Vs. Jerome Ford Vs. Dylan Sampson

When the Browns drafted Quinshon Judkins in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft and moved on from Nick Chubb, their running back position looked set for the foreseeable future. Then, news broke a few weeks back that Judkins was in jail waiting for a hearing for a domestic violence charge. Now Jerome Ford and fellow rookie Dylan Sampson have suddenly become relevant.

𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆:
Browns RB Quinshon Judkins was arrested for domestic violence.

Poor Browns fans... You can't make this up 😭 pic.twitter.com/ZduyutxMTK

— Polymarket Football (@PolymarketBlitz) July 13, 2025

We don't know much about the Judkins case and do not know what the repercussions of the arrest might be. Ford has already proven he can be fantasy relevant, and Sampson was a very good prospect. If Sampson ends up being the starter in Cleveland, he could be a breakout star. As a prospect, he was a guy I graded out higher than RJ Harvey, who is currently being drafted as an RB2 in fantasy football. 

3. Will Any Browns WR Be Fantasy Football Relevant Beyond Jerry Jeudy?

The Browns have three wide receivers who have proven they can be fantasy relevant. Their projected starters are Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, and Diontae Johnson. Not only do we have to see how this depth chart shakes out, but we have to find out who their quarterback is to see if any of them can be relevant at all. Each quarterback may have a favorite target too, which could drastically impact these wideouts' fantasy value. Jeudy is assumed to be the top option; nevertheless, that could change in a hurry in a situation like this.