Yesterday, the Browns put an end to their quarterback controversy (for Week 1 at least) by naming 40-year-old Joe Flacco as the team's starter ahead of their preseason finale against the Rams. This decision didn't come as a surprise to many, as all three of those in competition with him suffered an injury at some point. Additionally, it was always a long shot that a third or fifth-round pick would win this job, and Kenny Pickett's significant hamstring injury took him out of the battle by default.
With Flacco winning the job outright and both rookies having strong preseason debuts, the question now moves to what the rest of the room will look like behind the veteran. Teams rarely carry four quarterbacks on the active roster when the season rolls around, but Cleveland doesn't have any obvious cut candidates among the four main options. ESPN's Adam Schefter went on the air to speak about the situation, saying he expects them to carry four quarterbacks.
Adam Schefter expects Browns to carry four QBs
When breaking it down, Schefter believes both rookies and Flacco are locks to make the team, so it really only comes down to Pickett. The last team to truly keep four quarterbacks during a regular-season game was the Jets in 2020, as the Saints did so in 2021 but counted swiss-army knife Taysom Hill among those quarterbacks.
An interesting point from the Schefter quote, and maybe it was a misspeak, is that he said he expects the Browns to keep four quarterbacks on their "final" 53-man roster. Perhaps he meant initial, which would make a ton more sense considering the Browns did the exact same thing last year with Tyler Huntley, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Deshaun Watson, and Jameis Winston before waiving Huntley shortly after.
Schefter phrased this as a hot take, and if the Browns have four quarterback on their roster come Week 1 against the Bengals, it will be. However, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see Cleveland hang on to Pickett after rosters are initially cut down if they aren't getting good enough offers, just to trade him after the roster shuffling that occurs when players are cut and claimed.
Overall, quarterbacks are the most valuable commodity on an NFL roster, and the Browns won't move on from one until they know they are maximizing the possible return. If the Browns feel Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders can adequately back up Flacco, moving on from Pickett is the logical move; it's just a matter of playing the waiting game to get proper compensation back.