Myles Garrett, Browns
Getty
Defensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns will begin the season with 40-year-0ld quarterback Joe Flacco under center, and not only because the other two options are rookies without a single snap of regular-season NFL experience.
Superstar defensive end Myles Garrett didn’t advocate for Flacco specifically, or at least no one has reported that he did. However, he was clear with management and the coaching staff this offseason as he was negotiating a contract extension in the midst of a trade demand that he was sick of rebuilding
“A source with knowledge of Garret’s thinking said the defensive end preferred a veteran quarterback who could contribute — with the understanding Cleveland wasn’t in a position to spend lucratively and would likely also be bringing in a rookie quarterback,” Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN wrote on Wednesday, September 3.
Garrett ended up signing a four-year extension worth $160 million that keeps him under contract in Cleveland through 2030. What kind of assurances he got from the franchise as to the quarterback position are unclear, though the Browns traded for Kenny Pickett three days after locking Garrett into his new deal and added Flacco in free agency approximately one month later.
A little more than two weeks after that, the franchise drafted Dillon Gabriel near the end of the third round and Shedeur Sanders at the beginning of the fifth.
Joe Flacco Won QB1 Spot by Default After Kenny Pickett Got Injured, Traded
Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Joe Flacco.
GettyCleveland Browns starting quarterback Joe Flacco.
Flacco won the starting job almost by default after Pickett strained his hamstring early in training camp.
Flacco took over most of the first-team reps and Cleveland ultimately traded Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders, recouping the fifth-round pick they sent to the Philadelphia Eagles alongside QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson to acquire him in March.
The rest of the roster shook out with Gabriel winning the QB2 job and Sanders slotting in as the third-string signal-caller after the team parted ways with Pickett. The Browns also signed Bailey Zappe as their QB4.
Dillon Gabriel Threat to Take Joe Flacco’s Job as Starter if Browns Struggle Early
Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Flacco has the job now but may not for long if he struggles out of the gate.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com wrote on August 31 that the team’s decision-makers are happy with Gabriel and won’t fear to elevate him into the starting role, even amid the team’s brutal six-game stretch to open the campaign.
“If it’s going well and the Browns are scoring points, Flacco will continue on. But if he’s turning the ball over or taking sacks, the Browns will hand the reins to Gabriel without hesitation,” Cabot wrote. “They loved what they saw of Gabriel in camp and preseason games, and won’t hesitate to start him even if it’s early in the season.”
Cabot also noted that Sanders is likely to get a chance to play serious snaps in 2025, though she said that wouldn’t happen until later in the year and also did not specify whether his work would include a starting role at any point.