The Cleveland Browns are already down a quarterback roughly one week into training camp, and that has serious implications given the team’s timeline for making a decision on a starter.
Kenny Pickett suffered a hamstring injury at practice on Saturday, July 26. Two days later, head coach Kevin Stefanski said he expects Pickett to return “very quickly,” adding that the former first-round pick remains in the running to become QB1.
The general consensus among NFL insiders heading into camp was that Pickett and fellow veteran Joe Flacco were the frontrunners to start Week 1, with the majority of the field leaning slightly toward Pickett, though always with the caveat that circumstances might change quickly.
A hamstring injury in the first week of camp qualifies as circumstances not only changing quickly, but also drastically — particularly in the context of Cleveland needing to make a decision by joint practices/its second preseason game with the Philadelphia Eagles in mid-August.
Flacco has emerged as the clear favorite for the starting job, as Stefanski indicated Monday that he will get most of the first-team snaps moving forward.
“Joe [will] get the majority of them,” Stefanski said, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
Browns Have Shown Confidence in Joe Flacco as QB1 Every Step of Preseason
By contrast, Flacco took the fewest reps with the starters during mini camp. However, his readiness for the role via his knowledge of the offense given his history with the team was the catalyst for the coaching staff making that decision.
Thus, Flacco taking fewer snaps before camp began indicated Cleveland’s confidence in him and thereby the strength of his candidacy for the starting role. That Flacco will assume the majority of the snaps now that camp is underway and Pickett is hurt offers even more credence to the notion it will be Flacco who takes the first snap of the year against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 7.
Flacco went 4-1 as the Browns’ starter down the stretch in 2023, leading the team to the top wildcard spot in the AFC (No. 5 seed) and a playoff game against the Houston Texans. Prior to his start against Houston, Flacco amassed 1,616 passing yards, 13 TD passes and eight interceptions.
Joe Flacco May Not Hold Browns’ Starting Job Long
The Browns lost their playoff opener to the Texans, and Cleveland subsequently moved on from Flacco.
The team made the decision in large part to clear a path for Deshaun Watson to return from injury and reclaim the starting job the franchise paid him $230 million in fully-guaranteed dollars to take in 2022. The city loved Flacco and the locker room respected him, so keeping him on the roster could have proven a serious problem for a front office incentivized to play someone else based on an ill-advised overpay.
But Watson washed out last year, first flopping on the field then suffering an Achilles tear. He ruptured the tendon again during rehabilitation, leaving Watson’s availability at any point in 2025 a serious question mark.
The Browns are undoubtedly hoping he remains out for the salary cap relief it would provide and the money the team can recoup via the insurance policy it holds on Watson’s health. Meanwhile, Flacco is back and now the clear frontrunner for the starting job following Pickett’s injury.
How long Flacco will hold it remains to be seen, with rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders behind him on the depth chart and a brutal schedule that has the Browns squaring off against five playoff teams in a row following their opener against Cincinnati.
