Will Pickett start in 2025?
By: Jake Rajala
The former first-round pick Kenny Pickett is sort of the wildcard in the Cleveland Browns quarterback situation. He doesn’t have the same hope as Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, or the same career production as Joe Flacco.
Nonetheless, he has a fine combination of talent and experience. This is why SI says Pickett is the favorite to win the job.
Pickett went 7-5 as a rookie and 7-5 as a sophomore. Meanwhile, Flacco went 2-4 last season and 1-3 in 2022. To be fair, he did go 4-1 in 2023, however.
Shedeur has made impressive, off-beat throws, but he doesn’t quite have the same command of the offense as Pickett. This goes to Dillon Gabriel, too. It’s fun to speculate that Shedeur is special, as he recently trained with Tom Brady, and how he has a chip on his shoulder as a fifth-round draft choice. Yet, this doesn’t mean the team should start him right away.
If Pickett starts, what does this mean for the other QBs? I absolutely believe that Flacco has to be the odd man out. They have too much potential with Shedeur and Dillon to trade one of them. Plus, Flacco hasn’t separated himself from the other two young guns. Between Gabriel and Sanders, Sanders has been more impressive, so they may look to add Gabriel to their practice squad!
So, which team could benefit from Flacco? A reunion with the Indianapolis Colts makes a lot of sense. The New Orleans Saints and New York Jets also have young, unproven QBs.
The Browns have arguably the tightest QB competition among all teams. There will be a lot of opportunities for each QB in pre-season, especially with the starters.
Obviously, the one QB not included in the competition is Dak Prescott. Even the owner said it was a mistake signing him. I believe there’s a real chance that the Browns have to send a draft pick with Watson to get rid of him, just as we saw that unfold with Brock Osweiler.
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