ESPN Cleveland continues to speculate on who the Cleveland Browns’ QB1 will be for the 2025 season. With Deshaun Watson off the table, Cleveland analyst Tony Rizzo made a bold claim about who he believes will start in Week 1. Not only that, but he gave the odds he believes each quarterback has to start in the Browns’ first game of the year.
Tony Rizzo Predicts Cleveland Browns QB1
There’s no quarterback room in the NFL quite like the Browns’. Watson’s status remains questionable, with Rizzo leaving him out of the odds he shared on his show. Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are all in the mix for the starting spot, with Rizzo making a bold call on who he believes will lead the team.
“I think Kenny Pickett starts Week 1 right now, I do,” Rizzo said. “We’re at the window. I don’t know what the odds would be, but I make Shedeur 25-1,” to which his co-host replied, “No, more. I’d say 50-1.”
“Okay, 50-1,” Rizzo added. “I’m going to make Pickett the favorite at 3-1. I’m going to say Flacco is 5-1, and I’m going to put Dillon Gabriel at 10-1.”
Gabriel was selected two rounds higher than Sanders, so it makes sense that he’s listed higher on the depth chart and that analysts would give him the edge. No matter how often the media calls Sanders a “round one talent,” that claim doesn’t hold weight now as no team selected him until the fifth round. Every team in the league had a shot but passed multiple times.
“I think Kenny Pickett starts week 1 right now, I do,” – @TheRealTRizzo on the Browns QB competition.
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/znXgeTFWhK
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) June 26, 2025
Pickett has NFL experience, though Flacco has much more. Age plays a factor here, as the 27-year-old Pickett is 13 years younger than Flacco. While Flacco was the Comeback Player of the Year in Cleveland during his 2023 season, it’s clear the team is ready to move on.
His time with the Colts in 2024 was solid, but not enough for Rizzo to name him QB1.
After winning the Super Bowl as the Philadelphia Eagles’ backup QB last season following a disappointing stint in Pittsburgh, Pickett joined the Browns. The Steelers are a team the Browns know well, and now Pickett is on his second team in the AFC North. If he’s named the starter, he’ll have a shot at facing his former team twice.
During the 25 games he started in Pittsburgh, Pickett totaled 4,474 passing yards with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His completion rates were 63% and 62% in back-to-back seasons. He’s yet to average more than seven yards per attempt in his career, which Flacco has done in four different full seasons.
