Cleveland Browns announce final decision over starting quarterback for NFL season following Shedeur Sanders cut talk

THE Cleveland Browns have officially named their backup quarterback ahead of the season.

Rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel spent preseason battling for the spot.

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Shedeur Sanders (left) and Dillon Gabriel (right) have both made the Cleveland Browns roster for 2025[/caption]

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The rookies will be backups behind Joe Flacco with Kenny Pickett (center) traded away[/caption]

Veteran Joe Flacco was announced as the team’s starter, but there were as many as five QBs on the roster throughout the offseason.

Alongside Flacco and the two rookies, Kenny Pickett and Tyler Huntley also featured in the Browns‘ squad for preseason.

Both have since been cut by the team.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski ultimately revealed Gabriel as the backup to Flacco, with Sanders set to dress for games as the emergency third quarterback.

There had been much speculation as to Sanders’ position in the team throughout the offseason after slipping to the fifth round in April’s NFL Draft.

Sanders, the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, was touted as a comfortable first-round pick, but astoundingly, he wasn’t drafted until the 144th pick in April.

He was ultimately signed by the Browns, though reports suggested concerns about his mentality may have counted against him.

The former Colorado quarterback was given chances during preseason, featuring in two of their three matches.

He enjoyed a brilliant debut against the Carolina Panthers before missing the second game against the Philadelphia Eagles with an oblique injury.

Sanders threw two touchdowns in his side’s 30-10 victory in Charlotte, showing why he was a predicted first-rounder.

But he struggled in Saturday’s clash against the Los Angeles Rams, getting sacked five times and only throwing for 14 yards.

With only six completed passes, Sanders was replaced by Huntley for the match- winning drive as the Browns went on to win 19-17.

Shockingly, however, Cleveland released Huntley just hours after the game against the Rams.

Pickett also failed to make the cut, being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders for a fifth-round pick on Monday evening.

With Aidan O’Connell out with a fractured wrist, he is expected to provide backup for Geno Smith in Sin City.

Cleveland had only acquired Pickett in March, signing him from the Eagles for quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

The Brown’s haven’t won an NFL Championship since 1964, and the wait may continue, being 200-1 outsiders this season.

Forty-year-old Flacco will hopefully provide a platform for the two rookies to thrive over the coming years, showing them the ropes this season.

Flacco was a first-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft and went on to claim the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2012 with the Baltimore Ravens.

He won the Super Bowl MVP that season and tied the record for the most passing touchdowns in a single postseason, with 11.