Kenny Pickett ‘very much involved’ in Browns’ QB competition despite injury

The Browns’ open quarterback competition has taken a turn. 

Kenny Pickett, one of the presumed frontrunners for the job, hurt his hamstring during Saturday’s practice and is expected to re-evaluate the injury later this week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday.

Pickett was “coming off a strong couple of practices,” Schefter reported, but the injury will mean more reps for Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, who are all competing with Pickett for the position. 

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said before Monday’s practice that the team has no timeline for Pickett’s return, but that they’re viewing the injury on a day-to-day basis.

“Obviously, as we talked through it, that he’s going to miss today and maybe a couple of days. But we’ll reevaluate it after this block, if you will,” Stefanski said. “But again, disappointed for Kenny, but he’s here. He is getting better, and we’ll see when he’s back out there.

“For any player, you’re disappointed when you can’t be out there with any injury, but he’ll be fine,” Stefanski added. “He’ll rehab, he’ll get back out very quickly.

“I’m confident Kenny’s going to attack his rehab. Like we talked about, the evaluation on these guys is all-encompassing. It goes back through the spring. It goes to what they’ve put on tape already as football players. So I know he wants to be out there, but he’s still very, very much involved.”

Stefanski said Flacco will take the majority of the first-team reps with Pickett sidelined, and that the team will move Gabriel and Sanders around and “give them some more exposure” with different groups. 

Pickett spent last season as a backup for the Eagles before getting traded to the Browns in March. 

The 27-year-old spent his first two seasons with the Steelers, starting 12 games in 2022 and another 12 in 2023. 

Flacco, 40, has managed to remain an NFL quarterback well after his prime, although he hasn’t started more than 10 games in a season since doing so for the Ravens in 2017. 

He started five games for the Colts last season before Cleveland signed him to a one-year, $4 million deal in April. 

The Browns picked Gabriel in the third round of the 2025 draft, and selected Sanders in the fifth round after the former Colorado standout shockingly slipped down the board.