{"id":222332,"date":"2025-07-20T15:50:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T15:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/222332\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T15:50:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T15:50:11","slug":"insider-reveals-qb-who-has-slight-edge-to-be-starter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/222332\/","title":{"rendered":"Insider reveals QB who has ‘slight edge’ to be starter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cleveland Browns<\/a> insider Mary Kay Cabot recently dropped a significant nugget<\/a>. Kenny Pickett<\/a> holds a slight edge as the leading contender for the Browns\u2019 Week\u202f1 starting quarterback job<\/a>. That inner perspective puts a spotlight on a competition already buzzing behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

Heading into training camp, the Browns have four quarterbacks in the mix<\/a>. Pickett, veteran Joe Flacco<\/a>, and rookies Dillon Gabriel<\/a> and Shedeur Sanders<\/a>. When you break it down, Pickett is the only healthy quarterback on the current roster, positioning him as the early frontrunner for reps and opportunities this offseason.<\/p>\n

But the competition is very much alive. Cabot notes that while Pickett may lead the imaginary depth chart now, the Browns will likely \u201ctwo-spot\u201d quarterbacks across two practice fields during the first two weeks of camp, making the hierarchy a bit murky early on.<\/p>\n

Flacco doesn\u2019t require as many reps to stay sharp, but that doesn’t rule him out. He remains firmly in contention for that Week\u202f1 nod. Gabriel has impressed, too, handling a demanding spring workload and earning time with the first-team offense. Sanders, meanwhile, is expected to get isolation reps to exhibit his potential.<\/p>\n

According to Cabot, clarity could come by mid-August during practices against the Philadelphia Eagles on August\u202f13\u201314, an opportunity for the Browns to showcase their quarterback preference before the preseason second game.<\/p>\n

Who should the Browns name as their Week 1 starting quarterback?\"ClevelandJeff Lange \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

This quarterback competition feels like a microcosm of recent success stories in Cleveland. High-draft quarterbacks sometimes flame out only to revive their careers with a fresh start. Cabot\u2019s confidence in Pickett heading into camp injects Browns fans with optimism. Maybe this is the reset Pickett needs, similar to how Geno Smith rejuvenated his career elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Adding intrigue: Pickett and Flacco reportedly explored a pre-camp workout session back in New Jersey, aiming to build timing and camaraderie, a strategy reminiscent of past team-building workouts by Deshaun Watson.<\/p>\n

Cleveland\u2019s offense also suits Pickett. Browns GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski praise his decision-making, mobility, and ball-security qualities that mesh with Stefanski\u2019s play-action, under-center scheme. With Watson likely sidelined for the season, this quarterback race is wide open.<\/p>\n

So yes, according to Cabot, Pickett has a slight early edge. But it\u2019s a fluid competition. Between spring impressions, veteran presence, and buy-in from coaches, any of the four could grab the brass ring. Keep an eye on August 13 and 14. That’s when things might finally tip in Pickett\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cleveland Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot recently dropped a significant nugget. Kenny Pickett holds a slight edge as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,2337,1033,7,562,570,6,10154,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-222332","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-clevelandbrowns","12":"tag-dillon-gabriel","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-joe-flacco","15":"tag-kenny-pickett","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-nfl-training-camp","18":"tag-shedeur-sanders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114886359701427187","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}