Shedeur Sanders omission noticeable as Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco throw for Browns
While the Cleveland Browns opted to show rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel working during OTAs, they opted to specifically spotlight passes made by Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett
While it is anyone's guess just who will be the Cleveland Browns Week 1 starter come the beginning of the 2025 NFL season, it seems Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are the two leaders in the clubhouse.
Having spent the last three seasons in quarterback purgatory, in part due to the disastrous trade which saw them land Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans, the Browns brought in four quarterbacks this offseason to battle it out for a starting berth come September.
With Watson rehabbing the Achilles injury he re-ruptured in January, Flacco and Pickett, alongside rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel are currently partaking in OTAs with the Browns ahead of the summer break before training camp gets underway. It comes as Tom Brady's private text message to Shedeur Sanders after draft slide emerges.
However, while head coach Kevin Stefanski admitted to ESPN Cleveland recently that he has told the quarterbacks not to pay attention to 'where they are in line' for reps, the Browns social media may have indicated that Flacco and Pickett stand a better chance of starting in week one against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Posting on their official X account, Cleveland's social media team showcased passes thrown by Flacco to Jamari Thrash and by Pickett to Jerry Jeudy.
While they did post clips of Sanders and Gabriel working out on the field, neither were given the social media treatment Flacco and Pickett got.
Ultimately, both Sanders and Gabriel will be looking to just make the 53-man roster come the start of the season given the two veterans ahead of them.
It seems unlikely Gabriel, a third-round pick out of Oregon would be cut.
As for Sanders, who fell out of the first round and down to the fifth round, it is unclear whether he will make the Browns roster.
He will need a strong showing during OTAs and training camp to cement his place on the 53-man roster.
Speaking to ESPN Cleveland, Stefanski said: "I told the players, don't ever pay attention to where you are in line. Because where you are on Tuesday, it may be different on Wednesday. So no, we don't pay close attention to that.
"Certainly you have to decide what order the guys are going to go out and sometimes it may be 'Player X' or 'Player Y', whatever it is.
"The big thing for us is making sure we give the guys enough reps that they need.
"Making sure that they have enough where It’s twofold. They’re learning the system, they’re developing and we’re evaluating them. We’re finding out about them.
"It’s not going to be everybody gets 25 percent of the reps, that’s not how it’s gonna be. We want to give everybody enough reps where we can learn more about them and prepare them to get ready to play."
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