No team in the NFL is likely to have a quarterback competition like the one the Browns are preparing for the months ahead, with four quarterbacks on the roster and all four of them getting a fair chance to earn the starting job.
The Browns’ coaching staff will try to make the four-way competition among Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders as fair and efficient as possible, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
That will involve effectively splitting the offense in two during organized team activities, mandatory minicamp and possibly training camp while having two quarterbacks with each unit. The Browns currently have 12 wide receivers and five tight ends on the 90-player roster and want to ensure there are pass catchers available to let all four quarterbacks get plenty of reps in offseason work.
The Browns will likely try to pair up one veteran and one rookie, so in a typical practice Pickett and Gabriel might be alternating throwing to one group of receivers while Flacco and Sanders alternate throwing to another group of receivers.
Given that NFL teams rarely keep four quarterbacks on their 53-player rosters, there’s a good chance that one of the four will get cut at the end of the preseason, perhaps to be brought back on the practice squad. But more importantly, the Browns need to identify one who’s ready to start in Week One.
