Joe Flacco has seen it all while playing in the NFL. Now, he is back as the leading candidate to become the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback this season. He signed a one-year $4 million contract that is full of incentives to drive up the amount of money he can make.
This year’s QB group also includes Kenny Pickett, whom Browns GM Andrew Berry traded for, plus two rookies: Dillon Gabriel of Oregon and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.
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Traditionally, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski has only retained three quarterbacks, so at some point, one of the aforementioned players will be leaving. They brought Flacco in to be the starter, traded for Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles, and neither of the rookies would clear waivers if released. So, come final cutdown, there will be a hard decision to make or perhaps some injury list shenanigans will be in order.
Why would any club keep four quarterbacks? It doesn’t make sense.
The Browns are one of the few teams that are going through OTAs this week, and just about every player signed to the 90-man roster is in attendance.
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Flacco is 40 years old. The 2025 season will be his 18th in the league. He owns a Super Bowl ring and was a Super Bowl MVP. He has thrown 6,751 balls with 45,697 career passing yards and played in 196 games. He is also very durable despite being knocked around quite a bit, so the games that he has missed were because he was watching the game from the sidelines instead of playing.
He has played for five teams and has seen his share of young guys being drafted to take his place. It wasn’t the Browns who selected Lamar Jackson, it was the Baltimore Ravens when Flacco was their starter. Every team he has played for has had a newbie quarterback at some point.
And the Browns are no different. Flacco was signed by Cleveland on April 11. Two weeks later, in the NFL draft, suddenly, there are two rookie signal-callers in the building. Stefanski is a quarterback coach and will have his hands full with four quarterbacks. But it only makes sense that Flacco and all his years of experience should be able to take these young bucks aside and coach them up. Right?
Not so fast.
According to Flacco, when asked about his mentorship abilities at the OTAs, he did not sound like the task of being a teacher was in his job description:
“If I say, ‘I don’t want to be a mentor,’ I look bad. If I say, ‘I do want to be a mentor,’ then I look like an idiot who doesn’t care about being good and playing football. I tend to try to be honest, and I’ve said, ‘I’m not a mentor. I play football.”
That has been Flacco’s habit so far in the league. This is not his first time downplaying the “mentor” role:
“I really don’t believe that’s the job of a backup quarterback,” Flacco said when asked about mentoring (Anthony) Richardson. “I think that happens naturally as you become part of the team and like I said, you’re in that room and you are going to obviously do that. I’ve proven to be, I think as far as I’m concerned, a good teammate and I think that’s the most important. Those kind of things happen naturally.”
He didn’t spend much time preparing Jackson to take his job while with the Ravens. Flacco also had to deal with Sam Darnold when he played for the New York Jets, Drew Lock during his tenure with the Denver Broncos, and last year with the Indianapolis Colts, he had an inexperienced Anthony Richardson to cohabitate with.
According to Flacco, his job is to get ready to play, not get somebody else ready to play:
“The best way to be a mentor, honestly, is to show people how you go to work. Like I said, hope they pick up on that stuff, but not necessarily force them to pick up on the things that you do.”
Which is not what the Browns need. Both Dillon and Sanders have starting capabilities. That is, one day. Neither will likely see the field in live action this season, or even in 2026. If Cleveland can bring one or both players along slowly, it would be a huge advantage for not only the players but the offense itself.
Especially if they had an older dude to show them the ropes and prepare them, because we all know that practice is not like an actual game. That red jersey the quarterbacks wear in practice sessions is gone. Flacco continued:
“Because of what I just said, you’re acting like I wouldn’t want to be a mentor. Once again, it’s not really about that. It’s just not the main focus. I see myself as a guy who can play in this league, so if your main focus was just, ‘Hey, bud, I’m going to get you ready,’ you’re just not taking care of business.”
Right now, it is Flacco’s job to lose. Pickett has stated that he is not just conceding the starting role to Flacco and will compete for the gig. Pickett recently stated on Yahoo! Sports:
“When I was in Philly, I would prepare as if I was the starter, because you never know when that opportunity is going to come to play. I was shown how it’s supposed to be done, really, from the top down. So you get a chance to see what it’s supposed to look like and how it should look on a day-to-day basis, not just on Sundays. I think it will pay dividends for me in my future.”
Sanders has also stated he expects to start. Which is great - who doesn’t want their quarterback to be cocky and confident? Gabriel isn’t saying much.
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But one thing is for certain: the Browns’ 40-year-old quarterback is not looking forward to being a football instructor/advisor to two new young guys:
“It’s a good question to bait somebody into answering, and no matter how they answer it, it kind of makes the guy that’s answering it look bad. So it’s one of those questions that no matter what I say, you guys can write what you want to write about it. And there are a lot of questions like that. That’s why you end up having to try to avoid them.”
AFC Wild Card Playoffs - Cleveland Browns v Houston Texans Photo by Ryan Kang/Getty Images
Flacco seems more focused on his own ability and the Browns’ playbook, which he is already familiar with having spent six games as Cleveland’s starter in 2023. His current contract is absolutely full of incentives that enable him to make bank when the team achieves success.
But having to teach two young guys the nuances of the professional game?
“In a quarterback room, there are a lot of times where there are learning experiences, and I have a lot of experience, and I can talk about things, and hopefully they listen. But it’s not necessarily my job to make sure they listen to me.”
The plan is for Flacco to try to win the starting position and win games. Hopefully, the younger players will pick up whatever breadcrumbs Flacco will toss their way.