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With four viable options on the table, no team has a bigger offseason quarterback battle than the Cleveland Browns. However, despite previous reports of Joe Flacco and Shedeur Sanders performing well in minicamp, TJ Houshmandzadeh believes the race has narrowed down to either Dillon Gabriel or Kenny Pickett.
The retired wideout heard from a source within the Browns organization that Gabriel and Pickett have separated themselves from Flacco and Sanders, he revealed on the ‘Nightcap' podcast.
“I was told from somebody that is in the building that ain't a player, it's really coming down to Kenny Pickett or Dillon Gabriel,” Houshmandzadeh said. “That's what I was told. But now when you get the reports that Shedeur's completing seven out of nine passes — is it against starters? Or is it against the threes and the fours, the guys that are going to get released? So it seems impressive when you see the graphic, but is it really if it's not against the starters or guys that are going to be on the team?”
Since retiring, Houshmandzadeh has turned to a life of podcasting, which gives him a platform but also requires his opinions to be taken with a grain of salt. Houshmandzadeh did not play for the Browns during his 11-year career. Instead, he spent most of it with their cross-town rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals.
However, Houshmandzadeh's report complies with Browns receiver Diontae Johnson's recent statement predicting that Pickett would start Week 1. So far, Johnson is the only player on the team to give any insight into the heavily covered positional battle.
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TJ Houshmandzadeh reacts to Browns WR Jerry Jeudy
Houshmandzadeh co-hosted the late-night podcast with retired tight end Darren Waller to respond to Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy's recent comments. Jeudy recently threw shade at Cleveland's handling of the situation, saying it is difficult to build chemistry with his quarterback in the offseason with four different players throwing to him.
Jeudy, who joined the Browns in the 2024 offseason, enjoyed a career year in his first season with the team, notching a personal best 1,229 receiving yards. However, while most of his success came with Jameis Winston, he also worked with DeShaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe.
While Houshmandzadeh claims Pickett and Gabriel lead the way, other reports have Flacco out in front. Amid the chaos, Sanders still seems to be the fan favorite, given his popularity. But while many might see Sanders as a fifth-round draft steal with first-round talent, Cleveland still chose to draft Gabriel over him in the third round.
