There's A Favorite Emerging In Browns Starting Quarterback Battle

The Cleveland Browns' quarterback room is easily the most crowded in the league heading into 2025 after drafting Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, trading for Kenny Pickett and signing Joe Flacco — and that's not counting the injured Deshaun Watson.

Despite falling all the way to fifth-round, many believe the job will eventually be Sanders'. However according to The MMQB's Albert Breer, it's a veteran who's currently in "pole position" to land the team's starting job.

"My sense is that Joe Flacco is going to take the first snap in the spring, which there's some significance to that," Breer said of the 40-year-old Super Bowl champ.

"I think [Steelers coach] Mike Tomlin called it pole position last year when he was talking about his own quarterback situation. I think Joe Flacco has pole position here."

Even though Flacco is expected to get the starting reps at OTAs and minicamp, the SI insider says he can see a scenario where Kenny Pickett eventually takes the lead.

"The guarantees in Joe Flacco's deal and Kenny Pickett's deal are almost identical to one another," Breer explained. "So, walking away from either guy would more or less have the same penalty."

"So, even though Joe Flacco gets the first snap in the spring, that doesn't mean, like, Kenny Pickett won't get the first snap in the summer or that Joe Flacco is gonna make the team if Kenny Pickett wins the job," he added.