Browns Offensive Coordinator Says Any One Of Their 4 Quarterbacks Can Win Starting Job

The Cleveland Browns have four primary candidates for the starting quarterback job. According to Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, any of them – Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders – can win it.

“You can see them all winning the job, I think, right?” Rees said to reporters on Wednesday. “And so in terms of the competition, we’re so early in the process. We’re so early in evaluating that. Yeah, I think, you know, we have a good group of guys that continue to push one another and by the time September rolls around, we’ll be ready to go.”

It’s hard to imagine all four candidates being in the running for the starting job when training camp opens. The last guy on the depth chart will have a hard time getting enough quality reps, and the more quality reps that go to someone other than the eventual starter will make it harder for him to be ready.

The Browns will most likely trim the competition to three before training camp opens, with one of the four being traded.

Flacco has the experience and affection of the fan base due to his previous stint in Cleveland during the 2023-2024 season, where he helped lead the Browns to a playoff appearance. Gabriel and Sanders each could become the long-term answer, so it would be foolish to give up on either of the two prematurely, which makes Pickett the odd man out of the bunch.

The Browns have a mandatory minicamp next week, which could be the last chance they’ll have to evaluate the four quarterbacks before training camp.

“It’s going to be fluid,” Rees said regarding next week’s practice plan for the four quarterbacks. “We’re going to continue to work with all the guys we have. We’re going to develop all four of them and, you know, we’re going to push reps. We’re going to find ways to be creative to make sure that they all have opportunities to develop and put their best foot forward. And, you know, when the time comes, we’ll continue to push guys forward as they are.”