Berea, Ohio-The Browns of Cleveland named the veteran Joe Flacco on Monday, their quarter-back leaving to open the 2025 season. The decision ended what opened its doors as a quarter-back competition, but had an anticlimatic finish with Flacco emerging like the flight from Leaked.
Flacco, 40, took the vast majority of representatives of the first team in the training camp, because the fourth year quarter-rear, Kenny Pickett, was limited since Dillon Gabriel also underwent an injury to the hamstring. But he missed the opening of the pre-season with a injury by the legs. The recruit of the fifth round Sheder Sanders, who received no representative from the first team, missed the second pre-season match of the team due to an oblique injury suffered last week.
Deshaun Watson remains on the list physically unable to play as he rehabilitates an injury from Achilles that the team expects to put him away for most of the 2025 season.
Flacco signed with Cleveland at the end of the 2023 season and helped the Browns to an unlikely race towards the playoffs, where they lost against the Texans of Houston in the Tour of the Joker. As a starter of day 1 in 2025, his second visit to Cleveland will start with a home match against the Bengals of Cincinnati on September 7. But while the current Browns quarter situation has become clarity with its starter name, its future remains in flow.
The Browns used two selections in the 2025 draft on the quarters, but also have a pair of first round choice in 2026, which should have a stronger quarter-rear class. Gabriel and Sanders received opportunities to start in pre-season and the two had impressive moments. However, they are ready to start their professional career as backups in Flacco.
Managing Director Andrew Berry said that the maintenance of four quarters on the 53 men was possible, but coach Kevin Stefanski admitted on Sunday that he may not be possible.
“We are going to let him play as we get closer to the cut,” said Stefanski. “These are all conversations we still have, but these are difficult decisions. You know, I would like to keep everyone, but not realistic.”
The massive capital of the draft that the Browns hold in 2026 only underlines the need for the franchise to assess its young quarters further than late – a reality owner, Jimmy Haslam, recognized at the end of July.
When asked if it was important to see Gabriel and Sanders on the field in game situations before using their first round choices in 2026, Haslam replied: “Absolutely, absolutely”.
“Kevin is aware of it, he knows how important the quarter is important, and he and Andrew talk about this kind of thing all the time,” said Haslam. “It’s a daily and continuous conversation.”
The number of representatives of the first Gabriel team – a six -year university player at the UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon – received this summer, the Browns believe that it could be ready to see the field soon. Sanders – A four -year -old player at FCS Jackson State school and Colorado – was brought more slowly as QB4 on the depth table. However, he impressed by a performance of two affected when opening the pre-season of the Browns against the Panthers of Carolina, and a team source said that he was ready to obtain more representatives during joint training with the Eagles of Philadelphia before being sidelined by the injury. Stefanski said he hoped that Sanders and Pickett could increase their participation in training before the pre-season final against the Los Angeles Rams at home on Saturday.
With one of the most difficult hours to open the season – with six consecutive games against teams with winning records in 2024 – Flacco could be a regular quarter while Cleveland continues to develop its young quarters. Thus, while the questions surrounding the starter of the week 1 of the Browns are no longer a mystery, the clock to start finding their long -term response continues to work.
