Although Joe Flacco was the first QB up in team periods, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel received more overall reps, with Shedeur Sanders making the most of his more-limited reps. (TheLandOnDemand)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is an analyst on the Cleveland Browns for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Takeaways from Browns OTA practice open to media …
At times it resembled organized chaos.
On one field were veteran quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett alternating repping periods – 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s -- with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees looking on. On another field were rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders doing the same with head coach Kevin Stefanski and quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave looking on.
These extra-rep sessions would go on simultaneously as the Browns continued in earnest their methodical competition among their four active quarterbacks. This was the second OTA practice, first witnessed by media.
“I think [it’s] good,” Stefanski said. “I think it’s day two for us in doing it, so I think everybody understands where they’re supposed to be and when they’re supposed to be there. There’s a little bit of directing traffic when you’ve got two drills going on at one time, but they’ve done a really nice job. The players and coaches making sure that we’re practicing in a safe way. We’re getting good looks for our guys to learn from on both sides of the ball and not asking more than we need to of the guys physically.”
Receiver Jerry Jeudy said, “It’s been good. You see any dropped balls? Quarterbacks were putting balls right on the money. Receivers were making plays. We’re gonna keep doing that.”
In the early periods – starting with simple handoffs to backs and then proceeding to short passes against air to backs, and then receivers – the order of reps went this way: Pickett up first, followed by Flacco, Gabriel and Sanders.
But when they paired up into the competitive periods against defenders, Flacco took first reps on the veteran’s field with Pickett second, and then it was reversed. Same with the rookie’s field – Gabriel first up, then Sanders, and then reversed.
“It’s gone well,” Pickett said. “I mean, they’re doing a great job of getting everyone reps to see … get experience with the offense and get a feel for everybody. Reps are just so key for the quarterback position with continuity of players. So you always want to get as many as you can get. And if you’re not, instilling some mental reps and going in and watching tape and seeing every play just to stay as ahead as you can be.”
Flacco, 40, said he couldn’t remember the last time he was involved in an open competition for a starting job. He said it was fun.
“It’s like every time I go out here in the offseason -- I’ve done it a million times -- but it’s like there’s a little piece of you is like, all right, let’s see if I still know how to read it and let it go and do all those things. So it’s good to get back out there and start doing it again,” Flacco said.
A few observations
* The quarterbacks were charted only in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods. The numbers were verified by three ESPN Cleveland teammates.
Pickett was 9 of 16.
Flacco was 9 of 14 with 1 TD.
Gabriel was 11 of 16 with 2 TD and 1 INT on a Mason Graham tip at the line of scrimmage.
Sanders was 7 of 9 with 3 TDs.
ALL of the touchdowns came in the 7-on-7 red zone periods and were short passes. But there were some nice throws into small windows and a few contested catches.
* If you include all periods, Pickett received the most reps, followed by Gabriel, Flacco and Sanders.
“All these reps are super valuable, whether you’re getting the rep or not,” Stefanski said. “If you’re standing behind and you’re getting the rep as it happens, or you’re getting it in the meeting room or you’re doing VR [virtual reality], all these reps add up and with every position, they’re being graded on every play.
“And there’s a variety of things that they’re being graded on, but obviously for the quarterback, decision-making, technique, accuracy, those type of things.”
Stefanski said the extra throwing sessions will continue through the mandatory minicamp. Coaches then will reassess and “potentially” continue the organized chaos in the first week or two of training camp.
“We’re mixing [the order of reps] up every single day,” Stefanski said. “So that’s why I tell you not to read much into it, even though you guys don’t listen to me. But we’re just trying to get guys exposure to different concepts, those type of things. So, it varies by walkthrough. It can vary by drill. It’s not something that … we’re not leaning into or worried about the order at this moment.”
* Rookie running backs Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson were on the same field as Flacco and Pickett in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s. Jerome Ford was on the field with Gabriel and Sanders.
Attendance: matter or not?
Notable veterans absent were Myles Garrett, David Njoku, Greg Newsome, Joel Bitonio, Jack Conklin and Diontae Johnson.
Garrett, whose new, $160 million contract includes a $1 million workout bonus for attending the offseason program, posted on Instagram an image of him shopping in Japan earlier in the morning.
Stefanski was asked if he was upset not to have his defensive star on hand.
“No, this is a voluntary program,” he answered.
Johnson’s absence was notable because Stefanski had said on The Really Big Show on 850 ESPN Cleveland on Friday that OTAs “will be really good for him because this system is new for him.”
“I think it’s really important to remember that this is a voluntary program and anybody who’s here, we’re excited about that,” Stefanski said. “We’re not reporting who’s here on what day. So, there are guys that will be in and out of the program and that is totally their prerogative. But the guys that are here will just continue to work.”
But when asked what Johnson has to do to re-establish himself after a bizarre 2024 in which he was traded twice and waived twice, the coach said, “I think for us it’s just getting him to understand our program, what we’re about, get him out here competing, but we’ll really take that one day at a time.”
Brownie bits
Dawand Jones, who finished 2024 on crutches after suffering a fractured left leg in November, was back at left tackle with the first team. Veteran free agent pickup Cornelius Lucas was the right tackle in Conklin’s absence …
Jeudy laughed when asked which quarterback throws the best ball. “You know I’m not gonna answer that,” he said. He was then asked about Amari Cooper’s description of Flacco’s throwing ability as “poetry in motion.” “Yeah, it is,” Jeudy said. “I see exactly what he means. I’m excited for Joe. I’m excited to play with him.” ...
Denzel Ward posted up Michael Woods on a deep ball thrown by Flacco and deflected the pass ...
Flacco and Jeudy connected on a deep ball in the middle of the field in a team period.