NFL insider Peter Schrager has responded to speculation that the Cleveland Browns could carry four quarterbacks into the 2025 season. Reports have surfaced suggesting the team might keep all four current quarterbacks on the roster this year to maintain flexibility.
Schrager was asked whether that scenario is realistic or if the Browns might instead move someone before the season starts in September.
Insider Expects Cleveland Browns To Change QB Room Ahead of Week 1
Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot floated a possible scenario in which Cleveland keeps all four quarterbacks for the full 2025 season. Cabot cited their low salaries and the team’s uncertain short-term outlook as reasons for the added depth.
“If the Browns find themselves still in the playoff conversation after eight games, they’ll start whoever gives them the best chance to win, regardless of their need to evaluate the rookies,” Cabot wrote. “In that case, they might even hang onto all four for the season.
“But if they’re out of it by then, or close to it, they’d undoubtedly consider unloading a veteran and turning it over to the rookies. In a perfect world, they’ll get a good look at both [Dillon] Gabriel and [Shedeur] Sanders this year to help shape the room in 2026.”
Schrager, however, expects the Browns to cut that group down to three before Week 1. On the June 17 episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” he said either Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett will likely be traded.
“I’d be surprised (if the Browns kept four quarterbacks), and the two players I would look at is Flacco and Pickett,” Schrager said. “I would be surprised, personally, if both of those veteran quarterbacks are still on the roster come Week 1, and you have the two rookies.
“This year is going to be very important for Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel..
The Browns have two first round picks next year”@PSchrags #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/hxAxXBX87B
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 17, 2025
“Usually, in a situation like this … You have the two veterans go at it. One of those is your veteran, and you probably keep both rookies, and you dress, maybe, one of them.”
Schrager also called 2025 a critical year for the Browns’ rookie quarterbacks. With two first-round picks in the 2026 draft, the team is in a strong position to take a top quarterback next spring if neither Gabriel nor Sanders seizes the job this season.