Earlier this offseason, we asked the question whether the Cleveland Browns decision at quarterback should decide the direction of the team or should the direction of the team decide who was the starting quarterback. Frankly, it was a question about whether the Browns should be playing for the future or trying to win games now.
Cleveland’s roster is an older, expensive roster, but few believe that it was one that was ready to compete for an AFC North title or more, no matter who was starting at quarterback.
Veteran Joe Flacco always seemed like the most likely starter and was named as much on Monday. There is still speculation/reporting that the Browns will also keep Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders as well with cutdown day looming.
According to Tyler Dragon of USA Today, Flacco starting a majority of the season for Cleveland would be a mistake:
But the Browns are doing themselves a disservice if Flacco starts a majority of the season. The Browns already know what they have in the 40-year-old journeyman quarterback. Flacco is among the infamous group of 40 quarterbacks who’ve started for the Browns since 1999.
It’ll behoove the Browns to give Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders multiple opportunities to start this year – specifically Gabriel and Sanders whom Cleveland selected in the third and fifth rounds of the 2025 draft, respectively.
Clearly, Dragon believes the Browns should be building for the future instead of trying to win right now. The author does note the difficult start to Cleveland’s schedule and that starting Flacco for those six games might make a lot of sense before turning it over to the youngsters.
That is unlikely to happen if Flacco is able to lead the Browns to three wins or more during that early stretch.
For now, whether Flacco should have been named the starter or should keep the role is a matter of opinion. As the season progresses, especially that early stretch, many will have strong opinions about who should be calling plays behind center in the orange and brown. The noise around Sanders (and to a lesser extent Gabriel) will grow if the team struggles, but Cleveland should focus on what is best for the youngsters long-term, not the win-loss columns in the short term.
Do you think Flacco starting most of the year would be a mistake for the Browns?
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