All eyes are on Kevin Stefanski going into the 2025 NFL season as he has to choose between rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, along with veterans Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett, and Joe Flacco, to be his starting quarterback. For a franchise that has failed to find a suitable long-term solution in that position over the last two-and-a-half decades, the number of choices they have now puts them in an unprecedented situation.
They can keep, trade, or waive as they see fit. Kevin Stefanski will be tasked with arriving at the right decision over the course of training camp and preseason. Among the rookies, Dillon Gabriel was taken before Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft. Whether that might be an indication of the pecking order was subject to further speculation when the former Oregon signal-caller took snaps before the Colorado product.
However, the Browns’ head coach said that did not mean anything, commenting,
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“Yeah, I wouldn’t look into anything. I think you’ll see the whole weekend going through the spring. We don’t pay too close attention to who’s in there first.”
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Will Kevin Stefanski trust Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel to be Browns starter?
While it is easy to focus on Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, it is more likely than not that one of the veterans will be their starter going into the season. Deshaun Watson is getting paid franchise quarterback money, but he is coming off a season-ending injury and was playing poorly even before that.
Joe Flacco won the Comeback Player of the Year in Cleveland a season ago and fits well with Kevin Stefanski’s coaching. So, he might be the primary option that the head coach chooses to go with as he looks to protect his job. Even if he is the bridge, one assumes Kenny Pickett will be ahead of both the rookies. He is a former starter for the Steelers and won a Super Bowl with the Eagles this year.
So, right now, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are not battling for the starting job. Rather, they are both trying to remain on a roster that is particularly blessed in the quarterback position. It might even so happen that preseason performances determine that one of them is traded to a quarterback-needy team in exchange for some draft picks for Cleveland. Nothing is set in stone right now, especially when it is still early spring.
Edited by Rit Nanda
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