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Here's What Happened at Day 2 of Browns Joint Practices With Eagles
Jul 26, 2025; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) throws a pass during training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns closed out their two days of joint practices against the Philadelphia Eagles with a strong performance both offensively and defensively, highlighted by a great day by Joe Flacco, who very may have locked up the QB1 job.

That and more from Thursday's joint practice.

Injury Report

Not too much has changed since Wednesday. Kevin Stefanski mentioned that they were going to "put Shedeur Sanders down for a bit" as he nurses the oblique injury sustained the day before. Still a lot of vagueness on how long Sanders will be sidelined, but he was in full pads still handing the ball off in individual drills on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Kenny Pickett shared that he believed he was turning a corner with his hamstring injury after practice. He won't play Saturday after remaining limited both days in Philly. He wasn't willing to commit to returning next week just yet.

Linebacker Mohamoud Diabate remained out of practice. Safety Rayshawn Jenkins was seen off on the side riding the bike.

QB Competition Update

Day 2 of the joint practices was all about Flacco and Dillon Gabriel handling the quarterback reps, as Pickett and Sanders both deal with injuries.

Flacco, frankly, balled out. After a rough 11-on-11 red zone session for both QBs, Flacco turned things up in the next 11-on-11 session. The 40-year-old went 4-for-5 in 10 snaps, and his one miss was one of the best passes any QB has thrown during camp to Jerry Jeudy along the sideline. He dropped the ball in a bucket over a defender, and Jeudy caught it, but couldn't quite get his feet in. Still a special throw regardless.

Flacco ended that period with a TD pass to Jamari Thrash. He completed three more passes in the next 11-on-11, which was an end-of-game scenario, including a nice touchdown to David Njoku and a nifty two-point conversion play. If the QB competition wasn't over already, Thursday likely sealed the deal for Flacco.

Gabriel didn't rebound quite as nicely as Flacco from a rough opening period, running with the twos. He made one of his best throws of camp, though on the final play of the day, finding Fannin Jr. for a touchdown on a stick nod for six.

Stefanski wasn't ready to name Gabriel the starter for Saturday's preseason game until they saw how he progressed with his hamstring over the next couple of days. But all signs point to him getting the start and handing things off to Tyler Huntley later on.

Play of the Day

Stefanski was having some fun on Thursday, digging into his goody bag and pulling out a few nifty trick plays. In the second 11-on-11 session, Flacco threw a backwards screen pass out right to Harold Fannin Jr., who tossed it all the way back across the field to Jerome Ford who was waiting with a caravan of o-lineman ready to lead him to the end zone.

Ford was deemed down short of scoring but there was no tackling so Ford could have put his shoulder down and potentially scored in a real game. It was a cool play design, executed perfectly by the Browns. We'll see if Stefanski pulls it out in an actual game.

Player of the Day

Fannin Jr. started the day with a pretty egregious drop on a post route that Flacco absolutely threaded in some tight coverage to get to him. He put the play behind him and went on to have an extremely productive practice where he was at the center of some key plays.

The aforementioned throwback play was one of those. He was also involved in the second trick play Stefanski pulled out, where Flacco threw him a screen pass to the right, and Fannin proceeded to pitch it to fellow rookie Dylan Sampson looping behind him to punch in a two-point conversion.

That play was one of three receptions for Fannin Jr., including an impressive TD from Gabriel to punctuate practice in the final 11-on-11. He's becoming more and more involved in things and clearly getting more and more comfortable.

Quote of the Day

Joel Bitonio on whether or not he's ever seen a QB competition quite like this one:

"No, I have not. I was wondering what the record is for most quarterbacks on the roster at one point with Deshaun and Snoop getting up to six, so I was curious about that. But no, usually they don't really get hit or anything, so usually the quarterbacks are the healthiest in camp. They're oh, a tough day out there and it's like, was it? But no, it's definitely an interesting thing, but I think Coach Stefanki and the staff have really done a good job of navigating it, trying to get guys reps and when they're healthy, get 'em out there.

What's Next?

The Browns and Eagles will take their battle to the preseason stage on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from Lincoln Financial Field.


This article first appeared on Cleveland Browns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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