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.

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Cleveland Browns Quarterback Situation “Weirdest” in NFL History, Reckons NFL Analyst!

The Browns' QB situation will be interesting to follow this season

The Cleveland Browns have been facing quarterback problems for what seems like eternity. Even in 2018, when they drafted Baker Mayfield with the number one overall pick, that move failed to materialize.

Since then, the Browns bet heavily on Deshaun Watson, but that was one of the worst moves in NFL history. Injuries, suspensions, and a drastic loss in the level of play have been the complete story of his career in Cleveland.

After going through multiple quarterbacks in the past couple of seasons, the Browns, who had the number 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, had the option of selecting a signal caller if they wished to do so. But what followed has become a laughing stock as the Browns’ QB room is full of confusion, as rightly pointed out by NFL analyst Colin Cowherd.

Colin Cowherd Calls Out the Browns’ QB Room

NFL analyst and host of ‘The Herd’ podcast, Colin Cowherd, has given his 2 cents on Cleveland’s current situation under center. As per Cowherd, this is one of the weirdest quarterback rooms in the history of the NFL, with so many questions with respect to Cleveland’s decision-making process, as reports indicate that Kenny Pickett will be taking first-team snaps.

“In the history of the NFL, I don’t remember a quarterback room that was weirder than the Cleveland Browns.”

Cowherd proceeded to talk about each quarterback in the Browns’ room and what they actually bring to the table, highlighting the fact that there is no clear answer.

“Deshaun Watson, who’s hurt, nobody likes, and won’t play. Two rookies drafted, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Sort of a cast-off, who was a whiff in Pittsburgh, didn’t do much in Philadelphia, Kenny Pickett. And the likeable, aged, Joe Flacco, who’s at the very twilight of his career. But he wins more games than you think.”

The Browns' QB room after drafting Shedeur Sanders 👀 pic.twitter.com/noz5AcH9Bj
— ESPN (@espn) April 26, 2025

Cowherd then spoke at length on how he thought the eventual scenario would play out before coming to know that Pickett is the frontrunner for the starting job, as per Browns’ beat writer Mary Cay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

“I saw a story this week. Kenny Pickett will take first team snaps. And, I thought, timeout. My money is Flacco beats out Pickett. And then Shedeur (Sanders) is the backup, and then becomes the starter very quickly.”

What Does It Mean if Kenny Pickett Becomes the Starter?

First things first, as far as Deshaun Watson is concerned, there looks to be no role for him on the Cleveland roster anymore. He has become the prime example of an experiment gone horribly wrong, and even if he recovers toward the end of the season, it is extremely tough to see him back on the field in a Browns uniform.

That leaves us with Flacco, Gabriel, and Sanders. Cabot also hinted that neither of the two rookie signal callers can expect to see much action, especially during their early days. If that is the case, it looks like Flacco would be the backup and Gabriel and Sanders would be fighting for the number 3 spot on the depth chart.

Also Read: NFL Owners Give Green Signal for Players To Participate in Flag Football at the 2028 Olympics

Cleveland Browns

Colin Cowherd

Deshaun Watson

Dillon Gabriel

Joe Flacco

Kenny Pickett

NFL

Shedeur Sanders

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!