What once was a battle of four quarterbacks is now down to three for the Cleveland Browns. Joe Flacco won the quarterback competition, primarily by being the seasoned veteran who didn’t get injured. Whether starting Flacco a majority of the games ends up being a mistake or not, the Browns QB battle is now about the backup positions with Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders
all battling for the spot.Coming back from his hamstring injury, Gabriel seemed to come out of Week 2 of preseason
healthy, while Sanders sat the game out due to an oblique injury. Pickett, dealing with his own hamstring issue, hasn’t seen the field since late in July.
Tuesday, as Cleveland returned to the practice field in Berea, we got updates on the injuries for Pickett and Sanders:
For both quarterbacks, that news could be significant.
Many believe Pickett would be the odd man out, unless the Browns keep four quarterbacks, but the veteran now has a chance to show he is valuable to the team (or as a trade chip). Sanders, as the quarterback with the least invested in him, misses another opportunity to steal snaps from Gabriel and Pickett as the backup QB competition rages on:
Cleveland has until next Tuesday afternoon to have their initial 53-man roster locked and loaded. The three quarterbacks vying for the backup spot have that time to make their final pitches to HC Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry.
Pickett has to prove he is healthy and Sanders has to get healthy first before that would matter.
