2025 Cleveland Browns NFL Week 1 Starting QB Odds: Who Will Win The Starting Line-Up?



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The Cleveland Browns surprised many when they took not one, but two quarterback prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. After taking Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel with the No. 94 pick, the Browns then took Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders with pick No. 144. Both Gabriel and Sanders are now expected to compete for the Browns’ Week 1 starting job with veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, with Deshaun Watson all but eliminated from contention to start due to a torn Achilles injury.
With the Browns set to enter training camp looking for the team’s Week 1 starting quarterback, Bookies.com veteran oddsmaker Adam Thompson has put together hypothetical NFL betting odds for sports betting on who will be the starting quarterback for the Browns in the first week of the season this year.
Cleveland Browns Week 1 Starting QB Odds
Player | Odds | Probability (%) |
---|---|---|
Joe Flacco | -105 | 51.2 |
Kenny Pickett | +200 | 33.3 |
Shedeur Sanders | +400 | 20 |
Dillon Gabriel | +650 | 13.3 |
This hypothetical NFL betting market is for entertainment purposes only and does not reflect any market that may be available on betting sites and betting apps.

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2025 Cleveland Browns Starting Contenders
Joe Flacco (-105)
Joe Flacco won the Comeback Player of the Year Award two seasons ago when he led the Browns to the playoffs, but the team let him go in free agency, and he signed with the Indianapolis Colts last year. After once again becoming a free agent, the Browns decided to bring Flacco back on a one-year deal for $4 million and give him a chance to regain the Browns’ starting QB job. Given his experience, winning pedigree, and the fact that he had such a strong run the first time he was in Cleveland, Flacco will be given every opportunity to be the Week 1 starter out of camp, and the betting odds suggest that Flacco will be under center in Week 1, as he has the shortest odds to do so. In Thompson's view, he is a small favorite to win the starting QB job.
Kenny Pickett (+200)
Kenny Pickett was acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason in exchange for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick. Originally, it looked like Pickett would be competing with Flacco for the Week 1 starter role, but after the Browns drafted Gabriel and Sanders, it will be a tougher hill to climb for Pickett to win the job. Still, he will have a chance in training camp to earn the gig, and if he outshines Flacco and the two rookies, Pickett could start in Week 1. According to Thompson, he is right behind Flacco in the pecking order.
Shedeur Sanders (+400)
In a shocking fall from grace, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders was passed on by 31 other NFL teams until the Browns took a shot at him in the fifth round. This is a true boom-or-bust draft pick for the Browns, as Sanders is a talented young QB, but reportedly has character concerns. Still, he has a lot of potential, and now that the Browns have drafted him, the team will give him a fair chance in training camp to win the starting QB job and be the Week 1 starter for Cleveland. This may end up looking like the steal of the draft if Sanders can prove the entire NFL world wrong and show that he deserved to be a Day 1 or Day 2 pick, not a Day 3 pick. Sanders has an uphill climb to start Week 1, but don't completely count him out. He has had a good training camp so far, and is still very much in contention to start Week 1, even though he is a betting long shot.
Dillon Gabriel (+650)
Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel was taken in the third round of the draft, two rounds ahead of Sanders. Like Sanders, Gabriel will be given every opportunity in training camp to win the starting job for Week 1. We will soon find out if the team made a smart pick taking him in the third round, or if the team reached for him and should have taken someone else with their third-round pick. Gabriel is being given a fair shot to start Week 1, and it's possible the Browns give him the starting QB reins, although the other three QBs seem more likely to win the job.
About the Author

A writer based out of Toronto, Adam Martin has covered professional sports, with an emphasis on sports gambling, for more than a decade, writing for such outlets as The Toronto Star and Sportsnet. He is an expert in UFC, while also covering NHL betting and the Stanley Cup.