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The answer has finally been revealed as the Cleveland Browns will have Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback for the start of the season, much to the dismay of some fans of the team. While there could have been some fans who wanted the Browns to start either rookie Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel rather than the 40-year-old veteran player, NFL insider Albert Breer has a message for people with that logic.
To many, it might not be a shock that Cleveland went with the player who has the most experience in the league, in Flacco, rather than Sanders or Gabriel, who have none. For people who wanted the rookies, Albert Breer would say “that’s not reality in the NFL,” and the starter has to give the team the best chance to win with the players around the quarterback.
“I understand Browns fans saying, ‘Why are we waiting? It’s a transitional year,'” Breer said on the MMQB podcast. “Why are we wasting our time with a 40-year-old quarterback? That’s not reality in the NFL. You have 10 other guys in the huddle, and those guys have a season to play and those guys have careers. And I promise you, the fastest way to lose those other 10 guys in the huddle is to not give them the best answer at quarterback.”
With fans knowing that a decision from the Browns about the starter was coming sooner rather than later, the context of when to start a certain player is crucial. Breer would say that if Cleveland has a bad record down the line, then it’s much more understandable to play the rookies, even though one such as Sanders is “way behind.”
“Now, if you get to two and 10 or whatever or three and eight, like then everything changes,” Breer said. “But at the beginning of the year, when you’ve got a brutal six game stretch to open the season, if you are going to put a kid in there who is either not ready or not close to what the veteran will give you, you’re short circuiting the chance for the other 10 guys in that huddle to succeed.”
“I’ve said this before, people don’t like to hear it,” Breer continued. “Shedeur was way behind. Even Dillon Gabriel, let alone the two veterans in the room. He worked hard to catch up I don’t think he’s there yet. I think Dillon, in all likelihood from what I can see, looks to me like he’s probably going to be a career backup.”
At any rate, the Browns open the season on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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