BEREA — Reps during any kind of quarterback competition can be a scare entity in training camp. Reps during a four-way quarterback competition like the one the Browns are currently conducting can make them like finding a water fountain in the desert.
So how does a quarterback find a way to make up for the reps they may not be getting?
“I think you got to find ways to steal reps, whether that’s on the field, watching when you’re not going, watching the other guys in there,” quarterback Kenny Pickett said on the second day of training camp July 24. “After practice, staying and throwing the spots that you may not have gotten to, the plays that you weren’t able to run. Put receivers in spots and just throw those routes. Work the footwork and work the timing that way. Film room, watching everybody’s reps on film. There’s multiple ways that you can do it. I think it’s big to get the mental and the physical reps as well. Staying after and doing the extra stuff to get those reps is huge.”
The reality of the Browns’ quarterback competition is that it’s really almost two competitions in one. You have two experienced quarterbacks in fourth-year pro Pickett and 18-year pro Joe Flacco on one side, with two rookies — third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders — on the other.
Both Flacco and Pickett have been the No. 1 quarterbacks for teams before: Flacco primarily with the Baltimore Ravens and Pickett with the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, Flacco acknowledges the difficulty the scope of the current competition creates to forecast how things will play out week to week as the Browns progress through training camp.
“It’s tough to have expectations,” Flacco said on the second day of camp. “I think there’s been some communication between probably all the quarterbacks and Kevin, so yeah, I guess I know a little bit what to expect at least for the next week, but you can’t ask me. It’s hard for me to tell what it’s going to look like two, three weeks from now.”
If that’s the case, then projecting all the way out to the Sept. 7 opener against the Cincinnati Bengals feels complicated at best. It does seem like the competion is like two rivers — the two veterans and the two rookies — that will eventually converge into one overall competition, although it may not include all four by that point.
When those two meet come to a confluence is, in coach Kevin Stefanski’s mind, is something he said on the first day of camp was “in pencil.” He also stressed their focus for now is on the first four days of camp before an off day on July 27, although that’s not necessarily viewed as a moment when the number could be whittled down.
“Again, I have opportunity to talk (offensive coordinator) Tommy Rees, (quarterback coach) Bill Musgrave, our coaches, and how we want to outline this,” Stefanski said July 23. “We’ve had an entire offseason program with our guys. So, what I try to do is have a plan for this first block of four days, have a plan for the next block, but I’m ready to — we are ready to adjust as necessary throughout this thing. And then ultimately, we want to make the best decision for the football team, but we also want to gather information so that I can make that decision.”
The first day of training camp was the perfect example of the limited nature of reps to go around. The Browns worked all of about 70 minutes on the field for their first full-squad practice, and only two periods were spent with the offense and defense together in any form.
There was a modified seven-on-seven period where the quarterbacks play behind an offensive line, while reserve offensive linemen provide a mock defensive front. That was done on two separate fields, with Flacco and Pickett each getting five reps on one and Gabriel and Sanders getting five reps apiece on the other.
There was also an 11-on-11 period, which did not include Flacco. Pickett had five plays with the first unit, Gabriel five with the second and Sanders five with the third.
“I mean you’re still out here grinding and going through a lot of individual,” Flacco said. “I mean yesterday, come on, we ran 20 plays total anyway. It’s not like we had a heavy load. So yeah, it’s just staying locked in and focused during the meeting time, which is a lot of what we’re doing right now anyway. The thing for me is if you’re not getting a ton of reps out there and you’re only getting a certain amount of throws through individual, it’s just like maybe keeping an equipment guy out and just throwing some long balls or something like that just to make sure your arm’s still getting the load that it’s kind of gotten over the last three, four weeks as you’re kind of getting ready to come back.”
When Stefanski and the offensive coaches decide to actually shrink the competition will allow for a few more reps for each of those quarterbacks still standing. Until then, however, it’s still a matter of trying to make up for the reps not gotten, like the 11-on-11 reps Flacco didn’t receive on the first day of camp.
That may be easier in some ways for the two experienced quarterbacks, in that they’ve both gone through multiple NFL training camps before. Not only that, but they’ve also prepared for multiple camps, which is something both Flacco and Pickett stressed as being a key part of the preparation process.
Flacco spent the time between the end of minicamp and the start of training camp working in his New Jersey hometown, throwing with his five sons and other family members. Pickett, meanwhile, treated his five-week break at his own New Jersey home as an extension of the offseason program.
None of that, however, changes what real reps in practice with their teammates provide. Which goes back to the overall challenge that exists with so many quarterbacks going after one ultimate prize.
“Whatever you can get with the guys in live speed, especially going against the defense full 11 on 11, calling the play in the huddle, breaking the huddle, lining up, knowing where guys are going to be, the timing of the play, how each guy runs his route,” Pickett said. “It all plays into playing quarterback at a high level. So whenever you can get those reps and that experience is huge.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett trying to ‘steal reps’ as Browns work through 4-way QB battle
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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