Shedeur Sanders Gets Bad News via Cleveland Browns QB Projections

The Cleveland Browns announced earlier this week that when OTAs begin, Kenny Pickett will serve as the No. 1 QB, while Dillon Gabriel will assume second-team reps. 

That information put Shedeur Sanders firmly in the QB3 spot to begin the offseason -- if not lower, depending on how Joe Flacco slots in. And that wasn't the only bad news for the fifth-round signal caller out of Colorado this week. 

Mike Clay of ESPN predicted on Wednesday, May 21, that Gabriel will ultimately hold his current edge over Sanders in their rookie QB competition through at least the 2025 season based on each player's statistical projections for the upcoming campaign. 

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel (5) and Shedeur Sanders (12).

© Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Clay predicted five starts for Gabriel and just four starts for Sanders this year. He also projected Gabriel to throw for 1,205 yards and five touchdowns, while his guess for Sanders was 925 yards and four touchdowns. 

"In Cleveland, Gabriel and Sanders will compete with Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett for the Week 1 starting job," Clay wrote. "Both rookies figure to get some 2025 run because of the uncertainty surrounding Flacco and Pickett."

It is unlikely that the Browns will hold onto both Flacco and Pickett for the entirety of the regular season, or even through the whole preseason, after drafting two QBs in the third and fifth rounds, respectively. 

Cleveland can likely secure a draft asset for one of the two veteran signal callers via a trade, which could open up an early opportunity for whichever rookie finishes training camp higher on the depth chart -- based on potential injuries and/or poor performance.