One of the biggest storylines of the NFL offseason has been, and will continue to be, the Cleveland Browns and their quarterback room. As Deshaun Watson is currently rehabbing from another torn Achilles, the Browns will not be able to rely upon him for the 2025 season.
And that may be just as well. Since being traded to Cleveland ahead of the 2022 NFL season, Watson has appeared in just 19 of a possible 51 regular season games, and has not played well even when healthy. In those 19 games, he has a completion percentage of 61.2%, 3,011 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and an 80.7 passer rating.
With Watson out and Jameis Winston now playing for the New York Giants, the Browns are going to rely on a whole new quarterback room to lead their offense this year.
The Cleveland Browns Starting Quarterback Job Is Up for Grabs
With quarterback being their most obvious need this offseason, Cleveland made sure that they gave themselves plenty of options at the position. They signed former first round pick Kenny Pickett, who served as Jalen Hurts’ backup on the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles. They also brought back veteran Joe Flacco, who played for Cleveland late in the 2023 season. He spent the 2024 season with the Indianapolis Colts.
In addition to these veterans, the Browns also selected two quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft. They took Dillon Gabriel out of Oregon in the third round, and then surprised many by selecting Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders in the fifth.
Leading up to the draft, many believed that Sanders was going to be a top-five pick. However, he slid all the way down to the fifth round, the third and final day of the draft,
Cleveland Browns Insider Says Team Can Rely on Joe Flacco, not Shedeur Sanders, Moving Forward
In a recent article in which beat writers from The Athletic gave their main observations from the offseason workouts around the NFL so far, Browns insider Zac Jackson had this to say about Cleveland’s quarterback room:
“Even if Joe Flacco doesn’t win the starting job, or doesn’t keep it past Halloween, the Browns made a smart move in April when they brought him back on a one-year deal. Flacco is the best pure thrower of the four-man quarterback group, even at 40, but it’s his steadiness and experience that make him such a valuable addition right now.
“Flacco both mastered the offense quickly and earned the respect of the locker room during his 2023 stint with Cleveland. It was clear this spring that players, young and old, can lean on Flacco as the Browns go about the business of trying to fix their broken offense.”
At 40 years old, Flacco knows the NFL better than any quarterback on their roster. He also has the advantage of having played in the system before.
It will be very interesting to see how the quarterback battle plays out, and where Sanders finds himself on the 53-man roster (if he is even there at all).
