Training camp quarterback competitions usually only include two potential starters, but the Cleveland Browns currently have four candidates to start in 2025 after taking Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft.
It’s a peculiar situation that still has plenty of time to sort itself out, but many are wondering if the fact that the front office selected two rookies implies that a trade of either Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett is on the horizon.
The Times-Picayune’s Jeff Duncan recently wrote about New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, who is now the projected starter after Derek Carr suddenly retired, though he also mentioned a potential Browns trade as an option to ensure Shough has all the help he needs.
“The Saints’ best option might be to wait out the competitions in Cleveland and New York to see whether a better option such as Winston, Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco materializes via trade,” Duncan wrote.
If the Saints don’t see enough from Shough to confidently make him the Week 1 starter, Flacco or Pickett could certainly be obtainable in a trade to smooth the transition.
The Browns and Pickett have both been adamant that the former Pittsburgh product will have a chance to compete for the starting role, and if he wins the job, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to keep Flacco and two rookies as well.
Cleveland traded a fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Pickett earlier in the offseason, while Flacco signed a 1-year deal in free agency, so the organization is already more committed to Pickett.
There’s a scenario where all four QBs remain in Cleveland, but it just wouldn’t make a ton of sense from a roster-building standpoint.
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