Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry would like to settle their four-man quarterback competition 'sooner than later.' (Nick Carlucci/ESPN Cleveland)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
On the first day of training camp, Kevin Stefanski continued to give fairly equal reps to all four quarterbacks. But the coach indicated things could change as early as Monday.
“We’ll continue to roll guys in there this week,” Stefanski said before putting his team through an abbreviated practice. “We got four days before an off day. So, I’ll take a look at how we do it this week, and then we’ll huddle up on Sunday and decide how we want to handle them next week.”
Stefanski said he has “a plan that’s in pencil” on proceeding with the quarterback competition. He declined to give a timeline for when he’d like to name his starter and top backup.
“Listen, I think the big thing for me is putting our guys in a position where we can evaluate them,” he said. “I think they did a great job in the spring. All four of those guys. I will continue to put them in some situations, but ultimately, we’d love to make decisions sooner than later.”
Stefanski acknowledged it’s unfeasible to continue to accommodate reps for four quarterbacks.
“You know, with anything there’s cost to everything you do,” he said. “So, you can’t have 40 plays on either field because that’s going to have cost to the rest of your players. So being very intentional about what we ask our guys to do because … it’s not just about one position. We’re trying to get all these guys ready to play.”
Stefanski Offense 2.0
One notable difference from minicamp and OTAs in the quarterback competition was the uptick in play-action pass plays. We probably saw more play-action plays in the 65-minute practice than in all three days of the June minicamp.
This essential element of Stefanski’s offense could surely result in separation in the QB competition.
Joe Flacco is an expert at it, which gives him a big advantage. The revelation on Wednesday was how good Dillon Gabriel looked executing the play-fake. Kenny Pickett and Shedeur Sanders have some refining to do, although Sanders’ best completion on the day came on a play-action pass to tight end Sal Cannella.
Numbers, please
Unlike at minicamp, there was only one period of two-spotting – the two veterans on one field and the two rookies on another. Each received five reps in this modified 11-on-11 period. Flacco was 5 for 5, Pickett was 4 for 5, Gabriel was 5 for 5 and Sanders was 1 for 5.
The only other competitive throwing period was at the end, and it included some handoffs. Flacco sat it out.
Pickett was up first and was 2 for 2, making him 6 of 7 overall. Pickett would have been sacked by Mason Graham on one of his reps, which ended with Pickett high-tailing out of bounds.
Gabriel was second and was 1 for 2 (6 for 7 overall). His last rep produced the day’s only touchdown, a deep completion off play-action to South Carolina undrafted free agent Gage Larvadain, who slipped behind coverage.
Sanders was 2 for 3 (3 for 8 overall), but his last completion, a forward pitch to a back, probably would have been nullified by a sack. He also was virtually sacked on another play-action pass play.
A different Stefanski camp
Two veteran players affirmed that Stefanski intends to conduct a tougher training camp than certainly last summer and perhaps any of his previous five camps.
“Definitely,” said cornerback Denzel Ward. “There’s no ramp-up. We’re getting straight to it. Ready to get to work. Start fast. I like it. It’s about working hard, pushing it to the limit. That’s what we’re here to do. A lot more reps. A lot harder workouts. Hopefully, it pays off.”
Guard Joel Bitonio said, “Yeah, we've talked about intensity. We've talked about energy. We've talked about we've got to start fast, and we've got to keep building up. We have a couple of joint practices (v. Carolina and Philadelpha) that brings up the intensity. So I think we're going to have a high-intensity, physical camp.”
Brownie bits
Stefanski deferred questions about running back Quinshon Judkins to GM Andrew Berry, who will address media on Thursday. Judkins is absent after being charged with domestic battery in Florida earlier this month. The second-round pick from Ohio State can’t practice until he signs a contract. The Browns are holding off on negotiations about percentage of guarantees in the four-year deal to learn more details about his legal issues …
Weighing in on the quarterback competition, Bitonio said, “It's four quarterbacks that everybody's trying to compete and play. It's a big number of guys with limited reps, you know what I mean? So it'll be interesting to see how they do it. Luckily, you have a guy like Joe [Flacco] that has some experience and has some playing time and Kenny's [Pickett] played a lot. I think it's just going to be whoever's most comfortable in the system and can make it. I think all of them are talented, and all of them have that ability to be a starting quarterback in this league. Maybe not today, but in the future, so it'll be a good competition.” …
The Browns’ top two picks in the 2025 draft made their presence known on the first day of camp. Mason Graham had a virtual sack of Pickett and, with Jordan Hicks absent, linebacker Carson Schwesinger relayed play-calls with the No. 1 defense …
Absent from the field were tight end David Njoku (personal), Hicks (personal) and running back Jerome Ford (undisclosed minor injury) …
The Browns claimed defensive end K.J. Henry via waivers from the Eagles. He was on their practice squad the final six weeks and in post-season. Philadelphia cut Henry after signing former Browns edge rusher Ogbo Okoronkwo …
The Browns have another closed practice on Thursday and open the doors to fans for the first time on Friday. The first practice in full pads is slated for Wednesday.