The Cleveland Browns quarterback room was something of a circus, media and otherwise, this preseason — a fact that was not lost on Week 1 starter Joe Flacco.
Cleveland already had a bit of a history of doing Flacco wrong after he swooped in at the end of 2023, leading the team to a 4-1 record and its most recent playoff appearance. Flacco’s warts were the same then as they are now: he’s an aging and immobile quarterback who throws too many interceptions.
That said, Flacco compiled multiple 300-yard passing games and pushed the ball downfield for Cleveland in ways no other quarterback could that season on his way to 1,616 passing yards, 13 TDs and eight INTs in five games played.
The Houston Texans stomped the Browns during the opening weekend of the AFC playoffs and that was that, though it appeared Flacco had earned a job in Cleveland by developing strong relationships both inside the locker room and with the city amid the team’s relative success.
But Browns brass felt differently. The subsequent reporting that came out indicated the organization’s decision-makers were concerned that if Deshaun Watson — then heading into his third season — struggled, pressure from the fans, media and inside the locker room might grow to a tipping point where the Browns would have to dump their $230 million ‘franchise’ quarterback for a 39-year-old Flacco.
Cleveland let Flacco walk to the Indianapolis Colts in free agency. Watson played terribly again, ended up hurt and the Browns won three games. Flacco returned this offseason, but watched mostly from the sideline as younger quarterbacks with no previous history in Cleveland took more snaps than he did.
After earning the QB1 spot, Flacco spoke about that process candidly this week ahead of the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Joe Flacco Said Browns’ Training Camp Decisions Were Perhaps Ideal for Team, not Ideal for Him
GettyCleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Flacco didn’t blast head coach Kevin Stefanski of his staff in his comments to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
However, he did talk about how the training camp/preseason situation was not ideal for him, which should matter on some level since he is going to be the guy taking snaps for the offense for the foreseeable future.
“There’s so many things about every training camp and every situation that you’re in that aren’t necessarily ideal,” Flacco said. “I think the best thing for this team was to kind of have the process that we had. And even though I may personally not feel like that was the best thing for myself, I can get on board and see how that was important for the team to go through this process. Therefore I’m willing to, and I have been willing to, play that role and go through that process and just be the best version of myself I can be.”
Joe Flacco Doesn’t Have Same Level of Skill Talent He Had With Browns in 2023
GettyCleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.
Flacco is now 40 years old and won’t have the same type of pass-catching talent at his disposal that the Browns had two years ago.
Wideout Amari Cooper is off the team and out of the league as of Thursday, when he announced his retirement. Tight end David Njoku is also two years older and coming off a season plagued by injury issues.
Jerry Jeudy is the No. 1 wide receiver in Cleveland and on the heels of a career year. However, behind him in the starting lineup is a considerable lack of experience and previous production in third-year WR Cedric Tillman and second-year player Jamari Thrash.
The offensive tackle positions are shaky, at best, and the running back room will operate at a deficiency for as long as rookie Quinshon Judkins remains unsigned and/or for as long as the NFL suspends him for his off-field conduct issues, which could be between two and four games to start the season.
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