The Cleveland Browns enter training camp with five quarterbacks on their roster, creating one of the most crowded position battles in the NFL.
Deshaun Watson remains sidelined recovering from an Achilles injury. That leaves four players competing for the starting job when camp begins July 18.
Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and rookie Shedeur Sanders will battle it out for the top spot.
Sanders, the former Colorado star drafted in the fifth round, faces the biggest uphill climb. He’s entering a crowded depth chart with no guarantee he’ll even make the final roster.
The rookie’s NFL future remains uncertain. He could be traded, fall behind on the depth chart or get cut entirely.
But even if Sanders somehow wins the starting job, Fox Sports’ Henry McKenna says there’s no guarantee he’ll keep it beyond 2024.
“If he somehow leaps past Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel, Sanders will have to worry about next year. Even if he plays serviceably, there’s no guarantee he’s Cleveland’s future at QB. The 2026 draft will offer plenty of quarterbacks, and, potentially under a new head coach, the Browns would be in position to draft one.”
McKenna points to the team’s roster construction as another challenge for any quarterback.
“Certainly, Sanders would have to be something special to overcome this roster that has talent in key places (WR Jerry Jeudy, TE David Njoku, rookie RBs Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson) but big holes at just about every spot on the offensive line. The defense isn’t one with many bragging rights either.”
The Browns have talent at skill positions with Jerry Jeudy at receiver and David Njoku at tight end. They also added rookie running backs Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson.
But the offensive line remains a concern across multiple positions.
Former Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho was even more blunt about Sanders’ prospects back in April after the draft.
“The reality for Shedeur Sanders is this: As a fifth-round pick, it rarely matters how talented you are—you may never even get the opportunity to win the starting job. Sometimes, as a fifth-, sixth- or seventh-round pick, they are already cutting you. You are a camp body. You are there for training camp.”
Acho labeled Sanders a “camp body” brought in just to fill out the roster during the summer.
Sanders will need to prove those doubters wrong when the Browns take the field for training camp. The competition starts with four quarterbacks, but only one can emerge as the starter.
Whether the rookie can overcome the odds and establish himself in Cleveland remains to be seen.
