The Cleveland Browns unveiled their initial depth chart of the exhibition season on Monday, and the arrangement of quarterbacks aligns with anticipations.
Established player Joe Flacco is designated as the lead, with fellow seasoned participant Kenny Pickett positioned at the subsequent spot. Freshman Dillon Gabriel, whom the Browns secured during the third phase of the April draft, holds the No. 3 rank. Correspondingly, fellow first-year participant Shedeur Sanders, whose descent to the fifth phase garnered considerable attention during the NFL Draft, is recorded as No. 4.
The preliminary depth chart remains subject to modifications. The Browns have yet to engage in their inaugural exhibition match, and numerous revisions to the depth chart will transpire before Cleveland confronts the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.
But it serves as an effective gauge of the current situation nearly two complete weeks into the training period, which has demonstrated minimal fluctuations within Cleveland’s quarterback rivalry. Flacco and Pickett — in that precise sequence — divided repetitions with the principal unit on the launch day of training camp on July 23. Gabriel and Sanders — likewise in that sequence — trained with reserve personnel.
Further bolstering Flacco’s advantage in securing the starting role was Pickett’s hamstring ailment, which kept him inactive for a week. Pickett has since returned to practice, and his injury seemingly did not afford Gabriel or Sanders an opportunity to surpass him on the depth chart.
Joe Flacco, left, and Shedeur Sanders are on opposite ends of Cleveland’s quarterback depth chart.
(Nick Cammett via Getty Images)
Gabriel experienced repetitions with the primary unit while Pickett was incapacitated but did not surpass him at No. 2 and has been managing his own hamstring concerns, which have restricted him at practice. Sanders, conversely, has purportedly been largely assigned to collaborating with reserve players throughout the training period. He was briefly sidelined over the weekend attributable to arm discomfort before resuming practice on Monday.
Attributable to those injury constraints, the Browns enlisted former Ravens backup Tyler Huntley on Monday, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He does not appear to be a substantial factor in the rivalry but rather an additional participant in training camp.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski conveyed at the commencement of camp his aspiration to reach a determination regarding the quarterback position “sooner rather than later.” Flacco possessed the advantage at that juncture, and he retains it as the Browns gear up to encounter the Carolina Panthers in their opening exhibition contest on Friday.
