The 2025 NFL season will be an interesting year for the Cleveland Browns at the quarterback position. Entering training camp and preseason action, the team has a four-man quarterback competition in the works and five quarterbacks on the roster.
Just this offseason alone, the Browns brought in four new quarterbacks. They traded for Kenny Pickett, signed Joe Flacco, and drafted both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Of course, the team still has Deshaun Watson on the roster for big money with two years remaining on his deal. He is not expected to take another snap in Cleveland barring an unexpected circumstance taking place.
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While the Browns have four starting options, there is a high likelihood that they will trade one of them before the regular season arrives. There is almost zero chance that they will carry five quarterbacks into the regular season.
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Keeping that in mind, the question becomes, which one will be the odd man out?
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has made his prediction. He believes that Pickett will be the quarterback that gets traded.
“I think they’re going to trade Kenny Pickett. I haven’t been told anything. I don’t know anything. I never know anything. But just reading between the tea leaves, as a wise man says, Joe Flacco is the fan favorite,” Florio said. “They’re not going to get rid of Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. They want to see which one of those guys can become the long-term guy. Pickett was the insurance policy they traded for early on. I think he’s the first guy out.”
Pickett does make sense as a potential trade candidate. He is still young at 27 years old. There are teams around the league who could use an upgrade behind their starter.
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Flacco offers a vast amount of experience, which could be very important for both Sanders and Gabriel. He is also expected to begin Week 1 as the starter.
Cleveland is hoping that Gabriel or Sanders will step up and take over as the new franchise quarterback long-term. Pickett is a solid quarterback, but he’s not the kind of guy who will become the face of the Browns. He could change that with extremely good play in the preseason and training camp, but right now his roster spot is in jeopardy.
Expect to continue hearing a lot of rumors and speculation about Cleveland’s quarterback situation. For now, Florio believes it’s Pickett who will be on his way out of town.
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