In the wake of the latest injury to a Cleveland Browns quarterback, veteran Joe Flacco appears poised to start the season-opener but the quarterback situation will be a \u201cwild ride\u201d all year, one analyst says.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s hurt except for 40-year-old Joe Flacco so that sort of makes him the odds-on favorite to be the Week 1 starter,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Dan Graziano said Thursday on ESPN. \u201cFlacco looks to be the starter by default.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graziano made the comments after rookie Shedeur Sanders <\/a>suffered an oblique injury that kept him out of Wednesday\u2019s joint practice with the Super Bowl championPhiladelphia Eagles<\/a> as a precautionary measure.<\/p>\n The fifth-round draft pick won\u2019t practice Thursday and is unlikely to play in this week\u2019s preseason game, per The Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n The injury comes after Sanders excelled in the team\u2019s first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers last Friday.<\/p>\n After that performance, one analyst said Sanders had \u201cearned\u201d the right to \u201cmake a push\u201d as the Browns\u2019 starter.<\/p>\n Browns quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett have battled hamstring injuries, which allowed Sanders to start in the Carolina game.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Flacco passed 13 times with the first-team offense, while Pickett threw six times. Gabriel passed 19 times, mostly with the second team, and is expected to start<\/a> against the Eagles.<\/p>\n Sanders informed Flacco about the injury during practice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kinda tough,\u201d Flacco told reporters. \u201cWe all want to be out there and getting reps. That\u2019s what training camp and football is all about, sometimes these things happen. Sometimes you deal with them. It is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n He added of the younger quarterbacks:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in that room together and we\u2019re doing things together. When we come out on this field, I\u2019m not super worried about what Dillon is doing to get back from his hamstring.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, Flacco looks like the starter for Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, with Pickett as QB-2.<\/p>\n Sanders remains fourth on the team\u2019s QB depth chart behind Flacco, Pickett and Gabriel.<\/p>\n Still, said Graziano, \u201cThis should be a pretty wild ride all season long with the Browns\u2019 quarterback situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.<\/p>\n Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria <\/a>and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n