CLEVELAND, Ohio — Age is supposed to be more than a number in the NFL, yet 40-year-old Joe Flacco is challenging that conventional wisdom during Browns OTAs, looking every bit the explosive gunslinger who saved Cleveland’s 2023 season.
“He does seem like a freak of nature in the aging space, just like Tom Brady was,” Mary Kay Cabot observed on the Orange and Brown Talk podcast after witnessing Flacco’s performance. “Maybe he’s eating avocado ice cream. I mean, who knows what he’s doing? But he looks amazing. He still has a tremendous youthful love of the game. He does not seem like he’s 40 in any way, shape or form.”
While most assume Kenny Pickett is the presumptive starter after the Browns “went after Kenny Pickett hard at the beginning of the league year,” Flacco’s performance at OTAs served notice that the quarterback competition remains wide open.
“We know that heading into this, the Browns, I believe that they are going into this thinking Kenny Pickett is the guy that is going to be under center on opening day,” Cabot explained. “Well, if that’s going to happen, he’s going to have to beat Joe, who been in this game. He’s heading into his 18th season.”
Flacco’s ability to create explosive plays separates him from the competition. While other quarterbacks might effectively manage the offense, Flacco elevates it with his arm talent and willingness to push the ball downfield.
“Joe Flacco can make the offense explosive,” Dan Labbe noted. “He threw the one true deep ball that I saw today. It was a miss, but he threw it. He hit Harold Fannin Jr. on a line drive throw in the back of the end zone. Like Fannin just had to put his hands out and it was right there.”
This gunslinger mentality comes with risk — the interceptions that contributed to Cleveland’s reluctance to immediately bring Flacco back for 2024. As Ashley Bastock pointed out: “Joe’s, I guess, tendency to throw interceptions because of those gunslinger tendencies, like they cannot turn the ball over this year. That was their downfall in so many ways.”
Yet Flacco’s command of the offense and comfort level were evident. Having saved the Browns’ 2023 season after being signed mid-year, his familiarity with the system and personnel gives him a substantial advantage over newcomers like Pickett.
“Joe looked the most comfortable, but he certainly wasn’t perfect,” Cabot observed. “But just in terms of the deeper ball and the operation and just his efficiency and quickness and getting the ball out, knowing where to go with everything. He just looked like the smoothest operator to me.”
Beyond his on-field performance, Flacco’s presence in the locker room adds another dimension to his value. His genuine love for the game and camaraderie with teammates — exemplified by his immediate integration into team social events last season — demonstrates why he continues to play at 40.
“You get this sense when you hear Joe talk about it, just why he’s still here,” Labbe explained. “Being in that locker room is awesome. Like being around these guys is great. And Joe seems to really embrace that.”
Having experienced life without football while waiting for a call in 2023, Flacco appears determined to maximize every remaining moment of his career. As Cabot explained: “He had it taken away from him. He was going grocery shopping and trying to figure out where to go get a workout in and throwing the ball to his dad and just craving and missing this.”
The Browns’ quarterback competition may officially remain wide open, but Flacco’s performance at OTAs sent a clear message: don’t count out the veteran. As training camp approaches, the question becomes less about whether Flacco can still play at a high level and more about whether the Browns can afford to keep him on the sideline if he continues to outperform the competition.
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