Many training camp items simply reinforce what we already know. The most valuable items are those that add detail to what we don't know - i.e., playing time and role allotment, whether due to new coaching staffs, new faces, or a player entering a new phase of his career.
RELATED: See the RB Battles and WR Rooms we are monitoring here.
Which camp battles are we watching at quarterback, and what have we learned so far?
Quarterback Competitions
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts signed Daniel Jones to a one-year, $14 million deal this offseason to provide competition for Anthony Richardson Sr.. When Anthony Richardson Sr.'s shoulder injury was reported in the offseason, most assumed that would mark the end of his tenure as the team's starting quarterback. In a small surprise, he was fully cleared to start training camp. Since camp opened, Richardson has shown improvement in accuracy as a short and intermediate passer, and Jones has, well, looked like Daniel Jones.
Early Outlook: This is trending towards Richardson winning the job. He is much cheaper than he was the last two years in fantasy drafts, but still has the same high weekly and season-long ceiling. Richardson is exactly the kind of player we should be targeting in the late rounds, but he might not stay there if (when) he is announced as the winner of the competition.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns started camp with a four-way competition for starting quarterback with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, and fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders as the combatants. The team has mixed and matched the quartet with the first- and second-team offenses, with Pickett earning the most praise from the coaching staff and presumably the most momentum, until he suffered a hamstring injury. The initial expectation per reports is that Pickett will miss at least “a couple of days”, but the team officially gave no timetable for his return. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said that Joe Flacco will get the bulk of first-team reps while Pickett sits.
Early Outlook: Pickett's injury could increase the chances of Flacco starting Week 1 against the Bengals, which might seem like a good thing when we think of how Flacco soared in fantasy as a Brown at the end of 2023 and led the team to the playoffs. He wasn't the same last year with the Colts and couldn't make a compelling case on the field to keep Anthony Richardson Sr. on the bench. If Pickett can return and truly outperform Flacco and the rookies, that would probably be the best-case scenario for the offense, but a repeat as the lowest-scoring team in the league seems very possible, if not likely.
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