CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Joe Flacco resurrection story captivated Cleveland Browns fans in 2023, with the veteran quarterback delivering magical moments that transformed him from former rival to beloved figure. But as the Browns prepare for the 2025 season with Flacco competing for the starting role, fans should temper expectations about how long his potential starting stint might last.
During a recent Orange and Brown Talk podcast, host Dan Labbe highlighted an important reality about Flacco’s recent career trajectory: “Joe Flacco, the last time he played a full season was 2017 when he played 16 games. Really that run from 2008 to 2017, he played every game except in 2015 he tore his ACL. But since then he’s played 9 games, 8 games, 5 games, 2 games, 5 games, 5 games and 8 games.”
While those limited appearances partly reflect his backup status in recent years, they also illustrate the challenge of a 40-year-old quarterback making it through an entire NFL season. Even if Flacco wins the starting job, the Browns’ long-term planning suggests his time as QB1 would likely be measured in weeks rather than months.
“I do feel there is going to come a point in this season where they’re going to want to turn it over to Dillon (Gabriel) and Shedeur (Sanders) and see what they can do and see what they have in these guys as they make their plans for the future,” Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot explained. “Not just because they’re out of it, but just because they have these two first round picks next year and they do sort of need some data on these guys.”
This strategic imperative makes perfect sense. The Browns need to determine whether they should target a quarterback with either of their two first-round picks in 2026, which is widely expected to feature a stronger quarterback class than 2025. Without meaningful regular-season evaluation of their rookie quarterbacks, the front office would lack crucial information for that decision.
“So you’ve got to know, are you hunting for a quarterback with one of those two first round picks or both of those first round picks next year or are you set there and can use those picks on something else?” Browns beat reporter Ashley Bastock noted on the podcast.
Beyond the organizational planning perspective, Flacco’s playing style itself creates natural limitations on his staying power as starter. His gunslinger mentality — throwing beautiful deep balls but also risking interceptions — clashes with head coach Kevin Stefanski’s well-established aversion to turnovers.
“For as much praise as I and we have heaped on Joe Flacco, I do think ultimately the turnovers are the thing most likely to be his downfall,” Bastock observed. “And truthfully, you obviously saw it in the wild card game with him, those gunslinger tendencies coming back to bite him.”
Given these factors, the podcast hosts projected a realistic timeline for Flacco’s potential starting tenure in 2025: “I guess it’s hard for me to see Joe Flacco starting for this football team in December unless he has to because there’s nobody else to start,” Labbe said. “If he’s the Week One starter, it’s kind of a six weeks, maybe eight week deal. But I’d be hard pressed to see a scenario where he starts 14 games for the Browns.”
Cabot echoed this assessment: “I don’t see Joe lasting that long. I think if anything, maybe they’d give him about a half a season.”
This timeline could shift based on team performance — if the Browns are genuinely in playoff contention, they’d likely stick with what’s working. But with a brutally difficult early schedule and the organizational need to evaluate young talent, a shorter stint seems probable.
None of this diminishes what Flacco has already accomplished or what he might still contribute to the Browns. His leadership, system knowledge, and deep-ball prowess provide immense value regardless of how many games he starts. And for fans who fell in love with “Flacco Fever” in 2023, even a brief return to the starting lineup would offer more memorable moments from one of the NFL’s most surprising career resurrections.
The reality of Flacco’s age, injury history, turnover tendencies, and the Browns’ future planning all point to a starting stint measured in weeks rather than months — a final chapter that might be brief but could still be beautiful.
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Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from the Cleveland Orange and Brown Talk Podcast by cleveland.com. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions.
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