The most highly anticipated positional contest in the National Football League this summer got underway on Wednesday, as Cleveland Browns quarterbacks commenced activities at their training facility.
As of today, the contest features four participants: newcomers Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, alongside seasoned players Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. Head coach Kevin Stefanski expressed a preference to resolve the competition before training camp progresses too far.
“For me, the key is positioning our athletes to be effectively assessed,” Stefanski stated. “During the spring, I thought all four individuals performed admirably. We will continue to expose them to different scenarios.”
“Nevertheless, we aspire to make a determination in a timely fashion.”
For the Browns, an earlier resolution would undoubtedly be beneficial. However, the final decision — and its timing — hinges on the quarterbacks’ performances during training. The quantity of repetitions might not yet fully reflect the current standings.
So who has the initial advantage?
In an interview with Yahoo Sports reporter Jori Epstein, general manager Andrew Berry discussed the Browns’ strategy for distributing quarterback reps during the June minicamp. At that time, Joe Flacco, a seventeen-year NFL veteran, was often observed on the sidelines.
“Often in the NFL, there’s a mindset that the starting quarterback receives 70% of the reps, the backup gets 25%, and the third-stringer gets 5%, expecting backups to perform without substantial practice,” Berry told Yahoo Sports on June 11. “But it doesn’t need to be rigid, especially in the spring when we’re not actively preparing for specific games.”
That being noted, an initial player must lead the practice, which was visible during Wednesday’s session.
Mary Kay Kabot of Cleveland.com indicated that the practice was relatively brief, with Flacco and Pickett sharing the first-team reps, while Gabriel and Sanders practiced with the second string.
How Sanders, Gabriel performed
ESPN Cleveland tracked each quarterback’s success rate during the seven-on-seven drills. Each quarterback achieved one or zero completions, except for Sanders, who completed under half his attempts.
Here’s a summary, according to ESPN Cleveland:
Flacco: 5 of 5, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Sanders: 3 of 8, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Pickett: 6 of 7, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Gabriel: 6 of 7, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions
Meanwhile, local Browns reporter Camryn Justice compiled a video of Sanders performing throwing and running drills. Many of the throws highlighted come from individual and offense-only exercises, rather than the seven-on-seven scrimmage.
In the scrimmage, his completions included passes to the sideline and short passes to open targets, plus a shovel pass to his running back when under pressure. His missed attempts involved off-target passes to well-covered receivers.
On the other hand, Gabriel threw the only touchdown of the day on a play-action pass that found its open target following a suspected defensive lapse.
Early indications of the Browns QB practice rotation
With four quarterbacks vying for positions, the Browns are dividing their early training camp reps into two segments, using separate fields for seven-on-seven drills. Gabriel and Sanders, the rookies, practice on one field, while Flacco and Pickett, the veterans, use another with the starters. This system mirrors their spring practices.
According to Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, Flacco was given the first set of reps over Pickett on the veteran field, while Gabriel — drafted two rounds ahead of Sanders in April — had the first turn on the rookie field.
When the time came for individual drills, the rotation order was Pickett, Flacco, Gabriel, and Sanders.
So, assess the situation as you see fit. As Berry hinted in June, it’s wise not to over-interpret the rotations and reps at this early stage. Nevertheless, the competition is officially underway. And Cabot predicts that clarity on the depth chart will emerge by the end of the August 16 preseason game against the Eagles, the second of the Browns’ three preseason games.
The NFL community will be closely monitoring the entire process.
