The Cleveland Browns enter the 2025 NFL season having quite a quarterback carousel unfolding. Originally, with Deshaun Watson going down with an injury, the franchise had Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett in its quarterback room. Following the 2025 NFL Draft, the team also added Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders to its roster.
Sanders, in particular, experienced arguably the most unexpected slide in NFL Draft history, finally being selected as the 144th overall pick on Day 3. Now, this NFL analyst shares a harsh reality check to the Browns on starting Sanders or Gabriel over their veteran quarterbacks.
NFL Analyst Warns Cleveland Browns About Starting a Rookie Over a Veteran QB
On a recent episode of “The Rich Eisen Show,” respected NFL analyst Rich Eisen discussed the current state of the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback room. He shared a tough truth to Cleveland about what could happen if they start one of their new rookies over a veteran who’s already on its roster.
“Starting a rookie is really risky,” says Eisen. “I just think it’s going to be Flacco who starts. If your the Browns, if your [Kevin] Stefanski, start Dillon Gabriel. He showed us what we saw on tape, he confirmed it, it’s all good. And he’s the one who goes out against the Cincinnati Bengals and doesn’t perform well. What are you going to do? Are you just going to pull him? You have to give him starts and start time.”
Eisen makes a good point. For the Browns, having two rookie quarterbacks along with two veterans, it’ll be tough to start both Sanders and Gabriel. According to Eisen, each quarterback should be given four-to-six weeks to really show what they have to lead the organization.
“Same thing with Shedeur,” Eisen continued. “If you start him one or two games then pull the rug out, we’re going to rotate quarterbacks? Now it looks like you don’t have a plan and don’t know what you’re doing. Either one, you have to give the starter a month, six weeks.”
As in many cases, the veteran analyst believes the Browns should start its veteran to begin the season. He pointed to the team’s tough early schedule, which includes three divisional opponents in the first six weeks. Eisen thinks Flacco, being the longtime Baltimore Ravens QB, would put the club in the best position to compete.
Oftentimes, teams don’t want to make the mistake of rushing a rookie quarterback and risking their development. The Browns shouldn’t either, especially with tough defenses and divisional matchups to start the season. Eisen believes it’s best to rely on its most ‘adult-like’ quarterback to lead the way.
The term “adult-like” hasn’t been very kind to Sanders as of late. Getting in some trouble off the field with two speeding violations could very well find him in some hot water with the Cleveland front office and bring his maturity into question.
Eisen then suggested that if the Browns find some success with Flacco and sit at 3-3 or 4-2, the team should stick with him as its starter. But if the opposite happens and Cleveland only manage one or two wins, he believes it would be a good time to turn to one of the younger quarterbacks, either Sanders or Gabriel.
Despite the rookies, the Browns also have the aforementioned former Super Bowl champion, Flacco, who is expected to be the favorite to land the starting job. Regardless, Cleveland faces a difficult decision this summer as it determines who will lead the team into a challenging AFC North battle in Week 1 against the Bengals.
