Browns’ Plans to Start Rookie QB Dillon Gabriel Revealed

The Cleveland Browns have several significant decisions to make at the quarterback position throughout the course of 2025, and when to give rookie Dillon Gabriel his first start is far from the least important among them.

First, the Browns have to decide who their starting quarterback will be. Before they do that, however, they need to see two or three weeks worth of work throughout the course of training camp.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com wrote Monday, July 21, that Kenny Pickett will enter camp with the highest odds of winning the QB1 job for the team’s season-opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 7. However, she added the caveat that he could lose that poll position quickly.

Joe Flacco could be the man to take the job from Pickett, though Gabriel also has an outside shot. Cabot predicted that the middle of August is area on the timeline during which Cleveland will reveal its QB hierarchy. She also wrote that regardless of how each signal-caller slots in, Gabriel will likely start the second preseason contest of the summer on August 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“By the time the Browns practice against the Eagles on Aug. 13 and 14, it will be easier to see which way the Browns are leaning,” Cabot wrote. “The QB1 in those practices has a good chance to be the Week 1 starter, although the Browns will get some good data from the second preseason game in Philly, too. Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders will likely split that game, probably in that order, and they can both gain some ground in the competition. I just think it needs to end sooner than later to get the starter ready to play.”

Browns Expected to Fast-Track Decision on Starting QB

Cabot is the latest in a line of NFL insiders to suggest the team will determine its starting quarterback as quickly as possible in the name of continuity with the rest of the offense.

It appears Pickett is in the driver’s seat for now, with Flacco and Gabriel both on his heels. Gabriel’s first preseason start will come in mid-August and, if he excels, it’s possible his first regular-season start could come Week 1.

However, Vic Tafur of The Athletic last week doused the notion that Gabriel can win the starting job. In fact, Tafur projected Gabriel will end up QB4.

“Joe Flacco is back to save the day, assuming he beats out Kenny Pickett,” Tafur said. “And Shedeur Sanders should get a much-needed win and beat out Dillon Gabriel for the No. 3 job, as the Browns will learn you can’t draft a short quarterback in the third round just because he has a firm handshake and intangibles.”

Browns Need More Info on Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders Before 2026 NFL Draft

Regardless of the slotting from QB 1-4 come early September, the Browns will probably be bad and desperate enough to start all four players at one point.

The only way that isn’t the case is if one quarterback plays so well that he keeps Cleveland in playoff contention for much of the campaign, or if two or three signal-callers get hurt and the Browns no longer have optionality.

Save one of Cleveland’s two rookies proving himself a starting-caliber NFL quarterback in Year 1, it will behoove the team to get both Gabriel and Sanders starting reps during the regular season. The Browns own two first-round picks in 2026 and could potentially add a franchise player under center next April.