The Cleveland Browns are in a strange position with their quarterback position, as they have four players realistically challenging for the starting spot on the roster.
Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel were both picked in the 2025 NFL Draft, and there is a lot of excitement about what they can do going forward. Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett were both acquired this offseason as veteran options, while Deshaun Watson is recovering from a ruptured Achilles. The Browns’ QB battle could go in a number of different directions and this decision will have a huge impact on how the team does offensively in 2025.
A former Super Bowl Champion offered his thoughts on how the Browns’ QB competition will play out, while making a bold guarantee about Sanders’ rookie year.
Keyshawn Johnson Makes Bold Shedeur Sanders Prediction for Rookie Season
While on FS1’s “Speak,” three-time Pro Bowler and former Super Bowl champion wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson predicted that we will see Sanders under center as the starting quarterback before the first half of the 2025 season concludes.
“You know the crazy thing is that I am confident it’s going to be Shedeur — I don’t know when though,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if it’s the start of the season or three, four, five games into the season, but before they get to the midseason mark, he is going to be the starting quarterback and taking the reps.”
Johnson pointed out that Pickett was the first QB acquired this offseason, which may give him a slight edge in training camp.
“They’ll all split reps in training camp; they’ll get an equal amount of reps. Then, we’ll start to notice those reps are dying from somebody,” Johnson said. “It’ll either be Joe Flacco is sitting over there with the coaches laughing while Sheduer is battling it out with the other guys. Or we’ll look up and Dillon Gabriel won’t be practicing one day because it’ll be Kenny Pickett’s turn.
“And that’s how he’ll win the veteran players over, win the younger players over, and win the coaches over — by performing when the opportunity presents itself when he’s with the ones and twos. And that’s how they’ll grade him, but I think he’ll come out on top.”
Johnson’s co-host, NBA legend Paul Pierce, agreed with Johnson and argued that sitting for the first few weeks may actually be what’s best for Sanders.
With the Colorado Buffaloes, Sanders showed he has the talent to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Last season, he completed 74.0% of his passes for 4,134 yards with 37 passing touchdowns to 10 interceptions en route to winning the 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year award.
The Browns’ quarterback decision is going to be interesting given the multitude of options and how different they are from one another. The fifth-round pick Sanders, third-round pick Gabriel, Pickett, and Flacco will all have a chance to show what they can do in training camp. Sanders is the youngest of the quarterbacks on the roster.
It’s possible that Cleveland could trade one of the QBs at some point before the season starts, as there have been rumblings that such a move could take place (particularly involving Flacco or Pickett) since the Browns will likely only want three QBs on their 53-man roster.
Whichever way they decide to open the season, the Browns are likely going to hand the starting job to a rookie by the end of the campaign to get them some valuable experience and start evaluating them. Until then, all eyes will be on Cleveland’s QB battle to see who will come out on top.
