Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel (5) throws as quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) looks on during NFL rookie minicamp at the Cleveland Browns training facility on Friday, May 9, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cleveland Browns 'Intense' Quarterback Competition: Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Joe Flacco

Originally posted on Oregon Ducks on SI
By Charlie Viehl | Last updated May 27, 2025 5:16 PM ET

The Cleveland Browns began organized team activities (OTAs) on Tuesday, as the NFL season inches closer. For the Browns, OTAs will mark the first practices between all four quarterbacks on Cleveland's roster: former Oregon Ducks passer Dillon Gabriel , former Colorado Buffaloes star Shedeur Sanders, former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco, and former first round pick Kenny Pickett.

"This is the first chance that we get to look out there and see how these guys look going head to head, throwing to the same receivers, veterans competing against the rookies, and just starting this quarterback competition in earnest today," Cleveland insider Mary Kay Cabot said during an appearance on 92.3 The Fan's "Baskin and Phelps."

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The excitement level in Cleveland is through the roof, and all eyes were on the Browns' rookie minicamp as Sanders and Gabriel took the field for the first time. Now, both rookie quarterbacks have the opportunity to prove themselves to the coaching staff while working with the rest of Cleveland's roster.

"It's not just this week. It will be all 10 practices of OTAs. Those guys can really upset the apple cart and the pecking order heading into mini camp, depending on how they do during these OTAs. So the spotlight will be on them every single rep, every single practice, every single meeting that they have. Everything that they do will be evaluated. It's going to be intense. We haven't seen a quarterback competition like this around here in a very, very long time. And certainly not at all during the Kevin Stefanski era," Mary Kay Cabot continued.

Naturally, everyone wants to know how Cleveland will divide practice reps between the four quarterbacks, but Browns coach Kevin Stefanski urged players and media alike not to read into who lines up where before certain practice periods.

"I told the players, 'Don't pay attention to where you are in line because where you are on Tuesday, it may be different than Wednesday. So no, we don't pay close attention to that. Certainly, you have to decide what order the guys are gonna go out, and sometimes it may be player X, player Y, whatever it is," Stefanski told ESPN Cleveland.

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Meanwhile, the Browns also have Deshaun Watson on contract as he recovers from surgery on an Achilles rupture. As Watson continues his rehab, the door is wide open for both Gabriel and Sanders to compete for the starting job in Cleveland.

Gabriel led Oregon to the College Football Playoff after an undefeated regular season in the Big Ten while Sanders led Colorado to nine wins alongside Heisman Trophy winner, former Buffaloes wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. The Browns' newest quarterbacks have proven their ability to compete at a high level, and all eyes will be on them as continue to adjust to the NFL.