BEREA, Ohio — The past and potential future were on full display Wednesday when two things seemed evident in watching the Cleveland Browns’ organized team activity:

1. Shedeur Sanders is very clearly fourth on the depth chart.

2. Joe Flacco is still the best quarterback on this roster.

How any of that changes, if at all, between now and September remains to be seen.

The Browns have a lot to sort through over the next 12 months. The trade-down with the Jacksonville Jaguars on draft day to acquire a future first-round pick signaled they were punting on finding a franchise quarterback until next year’s draft.

But since they have the next 11 months, 17 games and too many practices to count between now and then, they might as well pass the time by seeing whether either of the two darts they threw in the middle and late rounds of this draft — Dillon Gabriel and Sanders — can find the dart board.

That complicates what we’ll witness as OTAs, minicamps, training camp and eventually the regular season play out.

Even at 40, Flacco can still spin it. The arm strength on display Wednesday was undeniable. I have thought since the draft concluded, even after the Browns selected Gabriel and Sanders, that Kenny Pickett begins this competition with the edge to be the starter.

He got here first. The Browns pursued him shortly after last season ended. They gave up an asset to acquire him. He turns 27 next month and has two years of experience as a starter in the NFL, meaning theoretically he should still have quite a bit of football in front of him.

.@Jamari_Thrash making plays 😯 pic.twitter.com/u88R25zVvN

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) May 28, 2025

Then you watch the way Flacco slings it downfield, the way he commands the huddle, listen to others explain how he commands the quarterbacks unit, and it puts the Browns at an interesting intersection.

Do you play the old man, even if he wins you an extra game or two that might be counterintuitive to the high draft pick you covet next year? Or play the kids now and see what you have?

deep dot from @JoeFlacco 🎯@jerryjeudy | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/M0USuMyuTq

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) May 28, 2025

If this is a lost season, or more politely, a season of transition as the Browns continue to clear out the cap carnage from the Deshaun Watson era, it makes sense to lean into the youth movement, for better or worse. They have 17 games to figure out whether Gabriel or Sanders is the long-term solution. If they’re not, the Browns will likely be in position to draft a quarterback next year.

That’s where Sanders is trying to fit into all of this. He was the only quarterback of the four not to take a rep with the starters in full team drills Wednesday. That isn’t necessarily surprising since he was the last one in the room as a fifth-round rookie.

This is also where it’s important to point out we’re judging all of this based on one OTA practice in May. It’s the only practice this week that was open to reporters. Kevin Stefanski could just as easily give the starter’s reps Gabriel received Wednesday to Sanders on Thursday when reporters aren’t allowed on the field.

Or he could elect to give Sanders starter’s reps next Wednesday, when the media will again be watching. But on the one day this week the media can watch, not giving Sanders a single rep with the starters during 11-on-11 drills was certainly noticeable.

Stefanski has cautioned multiple times not to pay attention to the batting order in which the Browns’ four quarterbacks take reps because the lineup is going to change.

But what about the number of snaps? Or more specifically, the lack of snaps?

If Sanders is going to win this job, or even a spot on the roster, he has some hurdling to do. Luckily for him, he has plenty of time.

The Browns’ unique setup of running simultaneous seven-on-seven and then 11-on-11 drills on parallel fields was intended to ensure all four quarterbacks got enough reps. It’s just that Sanders was throwing primarily to guys who probably won’t be here in September.

Whether Sanders is one of those roster cuts remains to be seen. Right now, the quarterback who is only three years younger than the head coach is still the best passer on the field.

How the Browns truly want to approach this season might dictate who starts and who sits.

Who ultimately wins the job? Like everything else with the Browns these days, it’s complicated.

(Photo: Jeff Lange / USA Today via Imagn Images)