The “mystery” is over: Joe Flacco has been named the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
It’s certainly been a unique story for Flacco, who was a long-time division rival as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. The Browns signed him amid quarterback injuries late in the 2023 season, and he heroically came off the street to lead Cleveland to a high-octane offense and a 4-1 record to clinch a postseason spot. In 2024, though, with Deshaun Watson set to return
from injury, Cleveland didn’t even offer Flacco a contract to return as a backup. Instead, they picked Jameis Winston, and Flacco signed on with the Indianapolis Colts.
With Watson likely to miss most or all of the 2025 season with an Achilles injury, the Browns added four new quarterbacks to the room. First, it was Kenny Pickett via a trade with the Eagles. Then, Flacco signed on board, tugging at the heartstrings of Browns fans. The draft threw things into a little bit of chaos when Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders were both selected in rounds three and five, respectively.
Through it all, Flacco has remained Joe Cool. He is the only quarterback who hasn’t been injured this training camp, and any “competition” with Pickett pretty much ended when Pickett suffered a hamstring injury earlier in camp. Flacco has been with the first-team offense exclusively for weeks, so the writing was pretty much on the wall. Nonetheless, it’s good to have it settled. Now, the big question is who will fill out the rest of the depth chart at quarterback?
