The two rookies need to be tested with 'real fire' before Cleveland makes decisions towards the next draft
Berea, Ohio – Cleveland Browns They appointed the veteran on Monday Joe Flacco Like her regular field marshal to open the 2025 season. This decision ends what began as a competition of four players, but had a disappointing end, with Flacco emerging as the great favorite.
Joe Flacco40 years old, has had the vast majority of repetitions with the first team in the training camp, since the fourth -year field marshal, Kenny Picketthas had a limited participation since he suffered an injury to the Corva tendon on July 26. Third Ronda's rookie, Dillon Gabrielhe has also had repetitions with the first team, but the first preseason game was lost due to an injury to the Corva tendon. Fifth Round Rookie, Shedeur Sanderswho has not had any repetition with the first team, the second preseason game of the team was lost due to an injury to the oblique it suffered last week.
Deshaun Watson It remains in the incapacitated list to play for physical problems while recovering from an Achilles lesion that the team expects it to leave it out of play for most of the 2025 season.
Joe Flacco signed with Cleveland At the end of the 2023 season and helped the Browns to an improbable race to the postseason, where they lost to the Houston Texans In the Commodines Round. As a starter from the first day in 2025, his second stage in Cleveland will begin with a game at home against the Cincinnati Bengals September 7. While the current situation of the Browns As a field marshal, he has clarified with his appointment as a holder, his future remains uncertain.
Los Browns They used two 2025 draft selections in the selection of field marshals, but also have a couple of first round selections in 2026, which is expected to allow them to have a more solid field marshal class. Gabriel and Sanders have had opportunities to be headlines in the preseason and both have had prominent moments. Even so, they are ready to begin their professional careers as substitutes for Flacco.
General Manager Andrew Berry said that keeping the four field marshal on the squad of 53 players was possible, but the coach Kevin Stefanski He acknowledged on Sunday that it might not be feasible. “We will let it develop as we approach the deadline,” Stefanski said. “Those are conversations that we constantly maintain, but they are difficult decisions. I would like to keep everyone, but it is not realistic.”
The huge capital that the Browns They have for the 2026 draft it only underlines the need for the franchise to evaluate their young quartbacks as soon as possible, a reality that the owner Jimmy Haslam recognized at the end of July.
When asked if it is important to see Gabriel and Sanders in the field in game situations before using his first round selections in 2026, Haslam replied: “Absolutely, absolutely.”
“Kevin knows it, he knows how important it is to be a quartback, and he and Andrew talk about such things all the time,” said Haslam. “It is a daily and constant conversation.”
The large number of repetitions with the first team that Gabriel, university player with six years in UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon, has received this summer indicates that the Browns They believe I could be ready to play soon. Sanders, a four -year player at the FCS Jackson State and Colorado school, has had a slower game rhythm like QB4 in the workforce. However, he impressed with an performance of two touchdowns in the first preseason game of the Browns against the Carolina Panthersand a team source leaked that was ready to receive more repetitions during joint training with the Philadelphia Eagles Before being out of the injury. Stefanski pointed out that he hopes Sanders and Pickett can increase their participation in training before the last preseason game against Los Angeles Rams At home on Saturday.
With one of the most difficult calendars to start the season, with six consecutive games against teams with winning records in 2024, Flacco could be a stable bridge marshal while Cleveland He continues to develop his young field marshal. So, while the questions surrounding the head of the Browns In week 1 they are no longer a mystery, the clock to start finding the long -term response continues to run.
