Shedeur Sanders arrived at Cleveland Browns training camp determined to compete and instead watched as veteran quarterback Joe Flacco formally secured the starting job for Week 1.

ESPN's Marcus Spears calls out the Browns for the handling of their quarterback competition involving Colorado's Shedeur Sander and Oregon's Dillon Gabriel.

The Cleveland Browns officially named veteran Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback for their 2025 season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, but there are still three other signal-callers fighting for positioning as training camp nears its end.

The veteran quarterback beat out other contenders for the spot, including Kenny Pickett and rookie Dillon Gabriel

Cleveland named Joe Flacco the starting quarterback Monday. “Joe Cool leading the way,” the Browns official account wrote on X, adding a saluting face emoji. It took any remaining drama out of the unique quarterback competition that included Kenny Pickett and two rookies in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.

The preseason is starting to hit its lull around the NFL, which is telling given there are only three weeks of the exhibition slate. Joint practices have taken over the preseason games, as teams find getting work in a controlled environment more fitting than a preseason game where too many injuries can happen.