The Cleveland Browns have a stacked quarterback room heading into the 2025 season.
NFL veteran Joe Flacco has returned to the team for a second stint, having impressed back in 2023, and he leads a group that also includes Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
The Browns have a four-way battle for the starting QB role in 2025GettyHeading into his 18th season, Flacco has 191 starts under his belt — and 105 of those are wins.
Pickett, in comparison, has 25 NFL starts to his name. Gabriel and Sanders, of course, have yet to see the field ahead of their rookie seasons.
Ahead of the new season, it is widely expected that Flacco will start in Week 1, with the Browns leaning on his experience.
However, Super Bowl winner James Jones believes the team should go in a different direction.
The former wide receiver, who had stints with the Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders, New York Giants and San Diego Chargers across his nine-year career, has suggested it’s time for the younger stars to shine.
He addressed Cleveland’s quarterback situation during an appearance on The Facility on Wednesday, and suggested Flacco might not be able to produce the kind of results that Pickett and Sanders can.
“If (Flacco) goes out here and plays well, that’s a bonus for your football team, and then you have two young dudes behind them that you are developing,” Jones said.
“Joe Flacco going out there, I absolutely disagree with that, because he’s older.
“You’re not going to win a lot. But with Kenny Pickett going out there, he’s young. He was a first-rounder.”
As well as backing Pickett, who was the 20th pick of the 2022 draft, Jones also offered a boost to Sanders, suggesting he already has the talent to be the starter despite a shocking draft slide of his own.
Sanders has been named as the most ‘talented’ Browns QBGettyThe Super Bowl XLV champion continued: “If it’s not Kenny Pickett, the only other option is Shedeur, because I believe he’s the best, talented quarterback on that roster.
“I know you drafted Gabriel (in) the third, but I don’t think he’s as good as Shedeur.
“So let’s see what Shedeur has and put him out there in that game.”
Jones is not the first person to back Sanders to take the starting role at some point in the 2025 season.
Fox Sports broadcaster Colin Cowherd believes the Colorado Buffaloes prospect has the ‘star power’ to start by Week 8, and long-time Browns insider Tony Grossi exclusively told talkSPORT he believes Sanders will get his chance.
“The last two years they have started nine different quarterbacks,” Grossi said of the team.
Flacco is the presumed Week 1 starter, but Sanders has been tipped to replace himGetty“Four last year and five the year before. They made the playoffs with four different quarterbacks winning games two years ago, it just happens in Cleveland like that.
“They have a brutal early schedule, which includes the game in London against the Minnesota Vikings. That’s why I think a veteran will start the season, but inevitably things happen.
“And people in Cleveland, mostly the Shedeur fans, but overall people say, ‘You’ve got these two rookies, you’ve got to find out about them before the end of the year.’
“I say baloney, they’re on four-year contracts. What’s the rush? So I don’t see the haste, but I expect Shedeur to start, I expect (to see) Dillon Gabriel.”
With all eyes on the Browns and their quarterback room, head coach Kevin Stefanski has a big decision to make ahead of Week 1, and it’s one that will come down to experience vs youth.
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