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With the Cleveland Browns starting Joe Flacco for the start of the upcoming season, there is still one more preseason game left before the games truly start to matter. While Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders is back at practice after suffering from an oblique injury, the latest report gives insight into the plan for the upcoming preseason game.
In the preseason finale, Cleveland will be hosting the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, as team insider Mary Kay Cabot relayed what head coach Kevin Stefanski said is the game plan for the contest. He would say that Flacco will start the game with the first-team playing 25 to 30 plays, as after that, Dillon Gabriel will play next, and then Sanders.
“Browns Kevin Stefanski said Joe Flacco will start vs #Rams, starters 25-30 plays, Dillon Gabriel will play second and Shedeur Sanders third,” Kay Cabot wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Zac Jackson of The Athletic would report the same, but add that Sanders will play “barring any setback” as Stefanski mentioned.
It'll be the team's first test since knowing their starting quarterback will be Flacco, as Stefanski said Tuesday that they “have a lot of confidence in him.”
“Yeah. You know, all along, been evaluating our guys, and I thought Joe has performed really well in camp and going back to the off-season program,” Stefanski said, according to the team's transcripts. “I thought he’s done exactly what we’ve asked him to do, and I think we have a lot of confidence in him.”
Browns' Kevin Stefanski on the crowded quarterback room
With the Browns likely keeping all four quarterbacks on their roster, there was some conversation in the football world about whether the team made the right choice to start Flacco. While no doubt having the most experience out of all of them, some were arguing whether Cleveland should have gone with either rookie in Sanders or Dillon Gabriel, while Kenny Pickett is injured.
However, there is no denying that Flacco likely gives the team the best chance at winning football games while the rookies learn on the sidelines. For Flacco, it's like any other day, as for the others, it's still a major opportunity to be a backup and continue to develop, as Stefanski would say.
“Not so concerned about depth chart, honestly. I really like our guys. They continue to work very hard, all of them,” Stefanski said. “As you make decisions like this, you talk to the guys, and you let them in on your thought process. But all of them should consider themselves, get ready as a starter. That’s how you have to handle being a backup in this league.”
At any rate, the Browns are looking to improve after a three-win year last season as they open the new season on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the Cincinnati Bengals.
