Throughout much of the preseason, four quarterbacks found themselves locked in battle to become the Cleveland Browns’ 2025 starter.

Veteran Joe Flacco returned for his second stint in Ohio, and held off a challenge from rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders to eventually land at the top of the depth chart.

Cleveland Browns GM lets slip how Joe Flacco and Shedeur Sanders were evaluated

Flacco beat out competition from the likes of Sanders to be named Browns starterCredit: GETTY
Kenny Pickett, a former first-round pick, was also in contention for a number of weeks, but has since departed for the Las Vegas Raiders.

There’s no doubt that Cleveland’s QB battle was one of the stories of the summer, with fans and reporters alike sharing their predictions for what could unfold for the Browns this year.

But amid all the noise, Flacco, Gabriel and Sanders continued to put in the work on the practice field, and will probably be glad to turn their attention to a tough schedule that begins with an AFC North rivalry game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

The front office, no doubt, will feel the same after a rough couple of months.
Owner Jimmy Haslam drew controversy back in July with his comments about drafting Sanders, suggesting the decision came from General Manager Andrew Berry.Berry, as well as catching heat from Haslam, has been overseeing the high-profile quarterback battle — and some fans believe the organization made a mistake in naming 40-year-old Flacco the starter over two rookie prospects.

Assistant GM, Catherine Hickman, managed to stay out of the headlines for much of the summer.

But she has gone viral on the eve of the new season for her comments on how the Browns have evaluated their signal callers, and reached their depth chart decision.

Browns assistant GM opens up on quarterback battle

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Hickman suggested that the organization have been collecting ‘as many valuable data points as we can’ around their quarterbacks.

“That’s what makes our job fun and hard,” she began, discussing the evaluations.

Browns assistant GM Hickman explained their QB evaluation process to reportersCredit: X: @Rob_Shenanigans

The front office took a driven approach to ranking their QB contendersCredit: Getty
“I’d say, I just go back to like the plan that we have in place for these guys when it comes to developing, is acquiring as many valuable data points as we can. Now we know these things take time.

“So, what is that going to look like at the end of the year? I don’t have a crystal ball to tell you, and I don’t do well with hypothetical, but I will say that every opportunity we will have to evaluate them we will take.

“None of them are going to take, you know, a back seat in how we plan and program for them with the reps that we have.

“And then from there we’ll see what the spring brings, and we’ll evaluate all possibilities like we always do.”

Fans slam Browns for quarterback evaluation

While a ‘NFL PR speak’ type answer from Hickman was probably to be expected, it didn’t sit well with fans, and some argued that the Browns don’t ‘understand football’ after hearing their driven evaluation process.

“Data alone isn’t gonna give you the s*** YOU CAN’T MEASURE! The stuff you can’t measure can mean far more than data. No wonder they are behind at this position,” one person said on X.

Fans have been left unimpressed by the Browns and their processCredit: Getty
“The best days of the NFL are behind us,” another wrote.

“And I thought the Steelers were a poorly-run team…” a third quipped.

“Stop hiring analytic nerds over actual football coaches, players and football experts. I never want to hear ‘data points’ from my GM or Asst GM,” a fourth responded.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the Browns and their quarterbacks heading into the new season, little is expected from the team that finished with a dismal 3-14 record in 2024.
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But if they do struggle again, questions will surely be raised about the evaluation approach that was adopted this summer.