NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The NFL world is laughing now, but what if the Cleveland Browns got it right? What if they do have their QB of the future on their 2025 roster, and most are too focused on draft position to notice it?
Hear me out. Joe Flacco is not expected to lead them to any type of championship. A player past his prime is meant to be a bridge between him and the new leader. He’s also there to teach the players about winning and be a calm voice in the huddle and locker room. So, in this case with the Browns, Flacco is the right choice.
Now, adding Kenny Pickett was a bit of a rush move as it was done before the 2025 NFL Draft. But at his price and with his experience and coming off a Super Bowl season backing up Jalen Hurts, why the hell would you not take a gamble?
Then came the Draft and 2 surprises. One was having Heisman Finalist and Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel fall in their lap in the 3rd Round. Let’s be honest, maybe Gabriel could have been snagged earlier. So, why not take that risk?
Then came the head scratcher of them all. With 3 healthy QBs already on the roster, the Cleveland Browns elected to take Shedeur Sanders in the 5th Round. But why? If they wanted him, why not take him earlier? No one knows, but they did grab him.
Here we are at Training Camp, with two preseason games in, and the young guys have performed well. Notably, fans and analysts have both stated that they have played above the veterans before them.
As the saying goes, the Cleveland Browns are doing Browns things, but are they? This could very well be the one time they are doing the smart thing and not throwing a young QB straight into the fire when he could burn out after one season or after a few bad games.
Yes, the depth chart the last two weeks has caused concern for some, but once again, this is a good problem to have. The Browns have their future QB on their roster; it’s not Flacco or Pickett. It will come down to Gabriel or Sanders.
Flacco was just named the Week 1 starter, as many expected. According to Adam Schefter, he expects the Browns to carry 4 QBs at the start of the season. But this is where the Browns have some wiggle room. If Flacco does play well, the young guys will get a season to learn from a crafty vet. If he goes down or gets benched, they will get some action, but won’t carry the weight of having a great season on their shoulders as they would if they were named Week 1 starters. Pickett should be the odd man out here.
The more we look at it, the more we should see the positives here. The Cleveland Browns should be applauded here instead of being dragged through the mud. The NFL world is screaming for Sanders to be the starter or even Gabriel, but for a team in desperate need of a franchise QB, they are taking the smart route of the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes or the Green Bay Packers with either Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love.
At times, it’s good to play the long game. The Browns have been suffering record-wise for so long while throwing money and wasting draft picks on QBs that it’s okay to stockpile some talent and let them learn and adjust to the NFL game.
We’re too busy laughing at the Cleveland Browns to see that maybe, just maybe, they are doing the right thing for once.
