Predicting preseason QB battles: Browns, Colts, Giants, Saints - ESPN

The 2025 NFL training camp season is a little light on true quarterback battles, but the four we can clearly identify are fascinating.

The Saints have a rookie trying to beat out veterans who've been there — but haven't done much. The Giants have a rookie and a pair of veterans who also just got there. The Colts have their own former first-round pick and the Giants' former first-round pick, both of whom could be on their last chance. And the Browns… well, the Browns have a QB competition the likes of which we've never seen before.

So after spending the past couple of weeks calling around and asking league sources what they know and who they think will win these four camp QB battles, I wanted to give you a rundown of where things stand with just under six weeks until the start of the season. We couldn't start anywhere but Cleveland:

Jump to a QB battle:
Browns | Colts | Giants | Saints

Candidates: Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders

Flacco and Pickett are both former first-round picks, though not by Cleveland. Gabriel and Sanders are rookies who were drafted in the third and fifth round in April, respectively. Let's tackle them in order of seniority.

Flacco, who was the Super Bowl XLVII MVP for the Ravens 13 seasons ago, is 40 years old and entering his 18th NFL season. He started five games for the Browns at the end of the 2023 regular season and won four, helping lift Cleveland into the playoffs in a season that saw them start five different quarterbacks. (The Browns lost to Houston in the wild-card round, with Flacco throwing two pick-sixes.) Last season he started six games for the Colts and posted a QBR of 53.4 — the first time he has put up a QBR over 50 since 2020 when he played four games