****CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco is not taking anything for granted. Entering his 18th NFL season, Flacco has been through the ups and downs of a quarterback competition and with Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, who have all missed some of the practice time, Flacco feels he's in a position to take the job.
Pickett has not been full go at practice since July 26, nor has Gabriel since last week. Both have been limited due to hamstring injuries. Sanders was rested due to 'arm soreness' on Aug. 2, but has been cleared since.
Seen as Flacco's primary competitor to start the season at quarterback, Pickett admitted last week that he is 'losing ground' every day that he's not taking the full team reps.
Meanwhile, Flacco has seen his first team reps ramp up with the other quarterbacks limited.
Joe Flacco (Photo: Getty, 247Sports)
"Listen, I'm not trying to look into that too much," Flacco said after the joint practice with the Panthers. "I can say that when you get a little bit – it's still not like, 'Okay, I went from three reps here, three reps there to a little bit more.' Not like a ton more, but a little bit more."
Flacco, 40, said he said he has been able to get more in a rhythm.
#Browns Joe Flacco to David Njoku on Saturday pic.twitter.com/E4P6qkH7hj
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"And in just that little bit, you can start to feel like yourself, get in the groove and you calm down a little bit," he said. "It's just human nature. Like, when you're getting two reps, three reps to like, 'Oh, this has to be perfect.' And when you feel that way, you're not going to be as good. So, to be able to, like, relax a little bit, let it loose and get a little bit more, it just feels right, you know what I mean? So I'm not going to look into what it means, but it definitely feels good to be out there."