QB Shedeur Sanders (12) takes part in the first day of Browns rookie minicamp at the Berea practice facility on Friday, May 9, 2025.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If Shedeur Sanders continues to progress in training camp like he has over the past two weeks, he’ll narrow the gap on the other three Browns quarterbacks in the competition.

After a bit of a slow start in spring practices, Sanders has come on strong over the past two weeks with plenty of completions, touchdown passes and grasp of the scheme. Granted, he’s still the fourth-team quarterback and has a long way to go. But he’s made significant strides during recent organized team activities and the mandatory minicamp, remaining alive in the competition.

He’s still a longshot to start on opening day, but if he knocks the Browns’ socks off during the preseason, he’ll at least remain in the conversation. It’s more likely that he’d make his way onto the field later in the season, but no one has been ruled out yet in the four-man competition among veterans Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Sanders.

QB Shedeur Sanders (12) throws during the first day of Browns rookie minicamp at the Berea practice facility on Friday, May 9, 2025.

As the Browns wrapped up mandatory minicamp this week and began their five week break until training camp in late July, the job remains wide open, with Pickett and Flacco having an edge by virtue of their experience.

In the case of Sanders, he excelled in spring practices from the snap until the end of the play, making good reads, releasing the ball quickly and delivering it with his trademark accuracy. At times, he looked smoother and more productive post-snap than Pickett and Gabriel, but those two were working on more difficult concepts and helping the coaching staff determine what works in the overhauled offense and what doesn’t.

QB Shedeur Sanders (12) takes part in the first day of Browns rookie minicamp at the Berea practice facility on Friday, May 9, 2025.

What’s more, Pickett and Gabriel worked primarily with and against first-teamers, while Sanders worked almost exclusively with and against backups. Still, Sanders’ poise and excellent arm talent were undeniable over the three-day camp.

The pre-snap process is where Sanders, their fifth-round pick out of Colorado, needs the most improvement, including calling plays in the huddle, signaling motions, sliding offensive-line protections, and changing plays. The terminology alone will be tough for the rookies to master over the next couple of months. The game will speed up when they face the likes of Myles Garrett, Mason Graham, Alex Wright, and Isaiah McGuire.

Gabriel, with his computer-like processing speed and experience in multiple vastly different systems, currently has a slight edge in the pre-snap arena, but Sanders can close the gap if he continues to progress at his current clip. With his high football acumen and tireless work ethic, Sanders can show up for training camp leaps and bounds ahead of where he left off in minicamp. It’s why everyone still has a shot at the starting job: no one can gauge how a player will progress in a new system.

Sanders must also work on his pocket awareness and avoid the numerous sacks he took at Colorado — an FBS-high 94 in two seasons — but he’s aware of the issue and attacking it with gusto. In minicamp, he drifted less and was more decisive in his limited 11-on-11s than in his more numerous 7-on-7s. Again, he’s working overtime to make quicker reads, including mining Flacco’s brain for tips. If he bolts up the learning curve here, he’ll increase his chances exponentially.

QB Shedeur Sanders (12) takes part in the first day of Browns rookie minicamp at the Berea practice facility on Friday, May 9, 2025.

But if he makes the climb from the back of the depth chart to QB1 on opening day, he’ll be defying the odds. According to ESPN, Sanders would be just the second fifth-round quarterback in NFL history to start Week 1 as a rookie since the 1970 merger, joining Randy Hedberg of Tampa Bay in 1977. Hedberg lost to the Eagles, 13-3, in the opener that year, going 0-4 in his lone NFL season. In the last 15 seasons, Dak Prescott, the Cowboys’ fourth-round pick in 2016, is the only QB drafted in rounds 4-7 to start his team’s opener as a rookie.

QB Shedeur Sanders (12) takes part in the first day of Browns rookie minicamp at the Berea practice facility on Friday, May 9, 2025.

But Sanders also isn’t a typical fifth-round pick. He was originally projected as a first-rounder, but tumbled to the fifth round for a number of reasons, including that some of his pre-draft meetings didn’t go well, according to reports.

As for Gabriel, the Browns’ third-round pick out of Oregon, he’ll likely make a strong case for the backup job, but starting Week 1 will be an uphill battle for him as it will be for Sanders because of the steep learning curve for rookies. But also like Sanders, he can topple the narrative with an excellent preseason and by exceeding expectations mostly during joint practices and games.

QB Shedeur Sanders (12) stretches during the first day of Browns rookie minicamp at the Berea practice facility on Friday, May 9, 2025.

The good thing for Gabriel and Sanders, who will both undoubtedly make the team, is that they’ll get plenty of playing time in the preseason considering the Browns will conduct joint practices before their preseason opener in Carolina Aug. 8, and their second preseason game in Philadelphia Aug. 16. The previous two times the Browns have practiced against the Eagles, they rested their starters in the game. If the rookies knock it out of the park in those joint sessions and games, they’ll remain in the starting conversation.

QB Shedeur Sanders (12) warms up during the first day of Browns rookie minicamp at the Berea practice facility on Friday, May 9, 2025.

As for Pickett, the Browns didn’t play to his strengths in spring ball, focusing more on under-center play-action and vertical shots downfield, with very little movement. It’s more suited to the Flacco style of play, which he excelled at here in 2023. But once the Browns get into camp and games with fewer restrictions, they’ll take more advantage of Pickett’s athleticism and mobility, with keepers and off-schedule plays.

Flacco, 40, didn’t get many team reps in minicamp, partly because he doesn’t need them, and partly because they need to save wear and tear on his body. But with a return to the Kevin Stefanski style of offense that Flacco immediately mastered in 2023, he has a leg up on the competition. The downside with Flacco is interceptions, and he must dial them back to land the job.

At this point, the two veterans have the best chance of starting Week 1, but the rookies can keep it a four-man race deep into camp if they keep up like this.