The Cleveland Browns open 2025 with a daunting six‑game stretch against 2024 playoff teams, and the QB puzzle remains front and center. Joe Flacco is the early starter, praised for leadership and familiarity with Kevin Stefanski’s system, but the move is pitched as a bridge, not a solution. Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders have shown promise in the preseason, each delivering scoring drives and touchdowns, yet the Browns aim to test whether either can be a franchise QB before the 2026 draft class fully arrives on the scene.

The club sits on a robust draft cache (two first‑rounders in 2026, nine picks total) and a growing QB pipeline, with names like Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, Nico Iamaleava, Cade Klubnik, and LaNorris Sellers circling as future options. The article argues Cleveland should give those rookies meaningful opportunities rather than cementing a short‑term fix with Flacco, who started five games in 2023 and helped push a playoff berth.

Gabriel and Sanders flashed upside in preseason, but the learning curve from college to the NFL is steep. The Browns need to balance immediate competitiveness with long‑term quarterback development, especially as the 2026 class looms larger and the roster evolves around a potential new signal‑caller. Flacco starts now, but the window for a true, durable solution remains wide open.

QB carousel, veteran detours, and a Browns’ starting gig collide with Kenny Pickett’s uneasy path. Joe Flacco’s unlikely Week 17 win for the Eagles lingered as a reminder that unconventional journeys still shape rosters, while Cleveland’s enrollment of Flacco muddies Pickett’s immediate outlook. The piece threads Flacco’s career from Ravens MVP to a brief Eagles cameo, then follows his trade to Cleveland and a QB competition that could ripple fantasy upside for Browns pass-catchers and the Pittsburgh links that defined Pickett’s era. It also flags possible moves tied to Saints’ coaching ties with Kellen Moore, hinting at a wider QB shuffle across contending clubs.

Cleveland named Flacco the starter, but the room behind him is crowded. The Browns are reportedly weighing four quarterbacks on their final 53, a rare move that could redefine depth chart leverage. Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders are all in the mix, with Pickett viewed as currency in trades. Cleveland’s decision comes after a DTR-for-Pickett deal that links the present to future cap space and draft capital, while Deshaun Watson’s 2025 absence looms large. The four-QB path has rarely paid off in the NFL, but if it sticks, fantasy managers will need to navigate a volatile, rotating group with occasional upside from the rookies. Flacco’s fantasy appeal would be limited unless injury clears a path, while the two rookies could emerge as speculative bench stash targets in dynasty formats.

For a Browns fantasy lens, the big takeaway is opportunity with risk: four QBs mean every week could feature shifting roles, unexpected relief appearances, and upside plays for Gabriel or Sanders if they seize reps in revenue games. The roster gambit also highlights a broader truth in modern football: depth at quarterback is currency, and teams may pay for insurance even when it costs a playoff path in the short term. Dynasty and keeper setups should weigh Gabriel and Sanders against Pickett’s trade value and Flacco’s veteran floor, especially in leagues that reward late-season upside or rostering flexibility.

The Cleveland Browns have pinned Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback, but the quarterback room remains crowded and unsettled. With Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the mix, Cleveland could conceivably carry four signal-callers on the 53-man roster, a rare move in today’s NFL. Schefter’s report suggests Flacco stays, the two rookies stay, and Pickett would clinch the final spot because quarterbacks remain valuable currency in roster construction. The Browns’ DTR-for-Pickett trade history looms large here, pressuring Cleveland to justify the draft return if fourQBs are kept. Historically, teams that kept four QBs into Week 1 rarely reached the playoffs, though a handful pulled it off. The coming weeks will determine whether this is a bold strategic hedge or an unusual risk that could reshape fantasy rosters and late-season quarterback depth charts.