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Joe Flacco is, once again, the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. After a long offseason full of speculation about who will start for the AFC North team, the coaching staff has decided that starting the veteran Flacco is the best recourse for the team. Flacco won out over the fourth-year QB Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Despite turning 40 this year, Flacco feels like he’s still limber enough to start. According to him, the Browns’ youthful locker room has tricked him into believing he’s younger than he is. Still, the Browns quarterback believes that despite his age, he’s still got the mind and the physical capabilities to be a starter.
“I hope that I’ve shown some people that over the last couple weeks — (people) who have watched the film, and we’ve been out there — I feel as good as I ever have,” Flacco said, according to Zac Jackson of The Athletic. “You get tricked a little bit when you’re in a locker room with all these (young) guys. You just kind of assume you’re in your 20s, and you keep telling yourself that, but I really do feel great. My arm feels just as good as ever. My legs feel really good right now to do the things that I’m going to have to do. So, I feel ready to go.”
The Browns entered training camp with one burning question: Who will be their starter for at least the start of the 2025 season? There were good arguments for all four candidates. Flacco was the veteran quarterback who led them to success a few years ago. Pickett was a relatively young quarterback who was a more stable option than the rookies. Gabriel and Sanders were two rookies with high upside. Sanders, in particular, was a projected first-round pick at one point.
Cleveland elected to pick the veteran Flacco to start the year. The move drew mixed reactions, with a sizable part of the fanbase believing that the right decision was to start one of Sanders or Gabriel. Flacco came back to the Browns after a stint with the Indianapolis Colts last season. He played in eight games, starting in six after Anthony Richardson was benched. He completed 65.3% of his passes for 1,761 yards, throwing 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
In his last season with the Browns, Flacco was brought in as a starter before Deshaun Watson went down with an injury. He started in five games, throwing for 1,616 yards with 13 touchdowns to 8 interceptions. He led Cleveland to the playoffs, but they were eliminated in the Wild Card round by the Houston Texans.
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