Joe Flacco, Bengals
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Quarterback Joe Flacco of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Cleveland Browns and Joe Flacco have a complicated history, to which the quarterback appeared to add another chapter after signing with the Cincinnati Bengals this week.
Flacco has experienced a late-career resurgence over the past few years. One can argue it began when he arrived in Cleveland at the end of 2023 and led the team to a 4-1 record down the stretch. That season ended with the Browns in the playoffs and former head coach Kevin Stefanski claiming his second NFL Coach of the Year Award.
After a year with the Indianapolis Colts (13 appearances, 10 starts), Flacco returned to Cleveland last spring. He won the starting job over rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, as well as fellow veteran Kenny Pickett.
Flacco started four games for the Browns before Stefanski benched him in favor of Gabriel. Cleveland later traded Flacco to the Bengals, reportedly against Stefanski’s preferences, where the QB started another six contests across nine appearances.
Flacco hunted a starting opportunity this offseason but recently chose to ink a one-year deal as Joe Burrow’s backup in Cincinnati. Reporters asked Flacco Wednesday about that decision and the lack of an opportunity to get a QB1 job this offseason.
“I think I can get all caught up in all that and say, ‘Why not me?’ and be bitter about it. I probably do feel that way. Yeah, it pisses me off a little bit,” Flacco admitted. “But at the same time, I’m very happy to be here. I had a lot of fun with Joe, and Joe’s the guy. And believe me, I wish I was the guy somewhere, and think teams are dumb for not having be that guy.”
Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson Likely to Battle for Browns’ QB1 Role
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders will compete for the starting job.
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Cleveland has not added any QBs this offseason, leaving Sanders, Deshaun Watson and Gabriel as the top three candidates vying for the starting job. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, among others, has reported that Sanders and Watson are the favorites to win a QB battle during the preseason.
However, the Browns have been prominent in conversations between reporters and analysts about teams that might be in the mix to draft a quarterback and/or sign a veteran in free agency to compete for the starting role.
Considering Cleveland’s 5-12 record, as well as its prospects in 2026 and recent/complicated history with Flacco, it is hard to imagine the Browns aren’t among the “dumb” teams Flacco mentioned that are unwilling to give him a chance to start.
Browns Bailed on Joe Flacco in 2024 to Double-Down on Deshaun Watson Mistake
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will be in the mix for the starting job.
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
That educated speculation is made more likely considering the relevant context — that Flacco bailed the Browns out during Watson’s second campaign in Cleveland and then beat out Sanders last preseason before outperforming him over the course of the year.
Instead of bringing Flacco back in 2024 after he led the franchise to the playoffs, the Browns chose to send him to free agency.
Reports at the time indicated that the Browns didn’t want Flacco’s presence to create pressure from a locker room and fanbase that had quickly bonded with the QB to interfere with the team’s hopes that Watson could finally get on track three years into the $230 million deal Cleveland gave him.
Watson was unable to do so, and the Browns went 3-14 that season. Cleveland gave up on Flacco after a 1-3 start last year, despite a brutal schedule. But Flacco still ended up completing 60.3 percent of his passes for nearly 2,500 yards, 15 TDs and 10 INTs in 2025. He will play next season at age 41.