Cleveland

Browns

The Browns’ Week 1 starting job will come down to Kenny Pickett versus Joe Flacco. Several Cleveland beat writers have said Flacco, who is familiar with Kevin Stefanski’s offense and succeeded with the Browns during a short stint in 2023, is the odds-on favorite to land the starting gig. That could leave Gabriel and Sanders to fight for the team’s QB3 spot. Jackson didn’t dismiss the possibility that Pickett or Flacco could get the boot ahead of Week 1. “Gabriel got some starter snaps during the spring, but I’d be stunned if either rookie can actually win the job in camp,” Jackson said, adding that one of the rookie quarterbacks could see late-season playing time if 2025 is yet another lost season for Cleveland. “Nobody knows what the circumstances might be in November and December, and the Browns need to know who and what they need to prioritize next March and April at the game’s most important position.”

There’s zero indication that Sanders is in contact with the Argonauts and we do not expect Sanders to leave the NFL for the CFL at this time. Every year in early July, just before training camps begin, the CFL allows its teams to claim NFL players’ negotiating rights, on the off chance that the player is released or waived by his team and decides to pursue a career in Canada. Per the CFL’s Marshall Ferguson, “the CFL began releasing a few names here and there periodically, but now the full list is available for all to see from each of the nine teams.” Fans can rest assured that their high-profile, fifth-round rookie remains a Cleveland Brown.

Stefanski continued praising Thrash: “Very intelligent player, can line up in multiple positions which I think is valuable. And then he showed up, he’s caught the ball well and you know the quarterbacks like how he gets open. He finds a way to get open versus zone, versus man.” Thrash had three catches on seven targets last year and is competing with Diontae Johnson for the Browns’ slot receiver job. There’s a chance he earns that role, but a lower-targeted player on the Browns’ fantasy-deficient offense isn’t likely to deliver fantasy value in 2025.

Cabot believes that it remains “an enormous longshot” for Watson to land on the active roster this season, but she can see a world where Watson could conceivably be activated from injured reserve in November or December. Frankly, the last thing the Browns quarterback situation needs is one more Watson-sized wrench in it this year. We expect the Browns to leave him on injured reserve, but it sounds like he’ll be healthy in 2026, at which time he could conceivably find a new situation.

The team signed K Andre Szmyt in a corresponding move. Okoronkwo was reportedly available via trade ahead of the draft but nothing came of it. He played a pass-rush specialist role in Cleveland last year and tallied three sacks. He should be able to find a similar gig before training camp, but a starting role is likely out of the picture.

Wolfe added that Kenny Pickett “is gonna have the chance to steal that job from him” during training camp and in the preseason. Shedeur Sanders or Dillion Gabriel, Wolfe said, might get a look later in the 2025 season if it’s another lost season for the franchise. Flacco knows head coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense well and was productive for the Browns during his five starts in 2023. Flacco posted the third best adjusted yards per attempt (7.2) of his NFL career during that 2023 stint in Cleveland, and made fantasy superstars out of David Njoku and Amari Cooper. Stefanski said the Browns offense has “a very high floor” with Flacco under center. If Flacco begins the season as starter, look for the Browns to be among the pass-heaviest offenses in the league. It’s a potentially excellent development for Njoku, Jerry Jeudy, and perhaps Cedric Tillman.

Johnson said, “I’ve been seeing Kenny going like right now with the ones...I think they are going to stick with him through the preseason.” Pickett has been taking snaps with the starters in camp and Johnson confirms this to be the case, with veteran Joe Flacco rotating in after. Pickett flamed out as a starter with the Steelers, tossing 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 24 starts over two seasons. He was the Eagles’ backup for their championship run last season and now seems to be getting another chance with the Browns. Rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders will likely start the year as reserves, leaving Pickett and Flacco as the potential starters for Week 1. Based on Johnson’s comments, Pickett has the edge, though the experienced Flacco is not far behind.

In each of the last two UFL seasons, Cannella has finished top six across all positions in targets, receptions and yards, most recently catching 44-of-57 targets for 470 yards and one touchdown. He averaged 1.61 yards per route run. The 28-year-old Cannella should not be expected to regularly score fantasy points this season. He was likely signed to provide reliable receiving depth behind David Njoku. Should Njoku miss time, Cannella could make for a viable streamer should he secure the No. 2 tight end role. The Browns released TE Tre’ McKitty in a corresponding move.

This is not the type of update we were hoping for, and it will not help Sanders overcome the labels that got attached to him in the draft process. We don’t think getting two speeding tickets or not showing up in court disqualifies him from having an NFL career or becoming a starter at some point. (We’d say the same thing for being drafted in the fifth round.) But it certainly has not been an auspicious start.