PHILADELPHIA — It’s time for the Browns to declare Joe Flacco the winner of their four-way quarterback competition, and let him take every possible first-team rep to prepare for the opener Sept. 7 against the Bengals.
Flacco is already a little behind the eight-ball from not getting many reps early on in camp, when the younger guys needed the work and Kenny Pickett was still firmly in the mix for the Week 1 start.
An 18-year-vet, Flacco already proved to the Browns in 2023 that he could walk in off the couch and still sling it around like his former Super Bowl MVP self. With the mobile Pickett heading into the offseason program as QB1, he needed all the work he could get with the ones to try to be ready for opening day.
The Browns also gave some of those precious starting reps to third-round pick Dillon Gabriel in the early going, while fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders worked primarily with the twos and threes.
But the four-way competition — which was really more of a two-man battle between Flacco and Pickett — took a drastic turn on July 26 when Pickett suffered a significant hamstring injury that effectively eliminated him from the Week 1 start. The Browns never admitted it, but it was clear Pickett wouldn’t get enough reps with the ones therafter to stay in the hunt. As it stands, he’s missed 11-on-11s in the last 10 practices. About a week later, Gabriel suffered a hamstring injury of his own, albeit not as serious as Pickett’s, but a setback nonetheless.
And then Sanders, who brought the juice in the Browns’ 30-10 victory over the Panthers in the preseason opener, strained his left oblique muscle (on the side of his abdomen) in early throwing drills on Day 1 against the Eagles, and will be “put down for a little bit,” in the words of Kevin Stefanski. Sanders, who has yet to take a snap with the first-team offense, wasn’t a serious contender for the Week 1 start, but the Browns were eager to watch him build on his excellent start during joint practices and Saturday’s second preseason game against the Eagles.
Now, Sanders might not get another preseason snap, and will be hard-pressed to throw at all over the next few weeks given that the oblique helps govern the throwing motion. The Browns will err on the side of caution with Sanders, who has no worries about making the 53-man roster on cutdown day Aug. 26th. Gabriel, Pickett and Flacco will also make the team,
That leaves 40-year-old Joe Flacco as the last man standing, but he also seemed to be in the driver’s seat of the competition from the start of camp, despite conceding some of his reps to the youngsters. Now, it’s time to let Grandpa Joe cook, and prepare to face that other more-heralded Joe in the AFC North at Huntington Field on opening day.
If the joint practices showed anything, it’s that the first-team offense needs more work together to be ready for the season. The first day against the Super Bowl champion Eagles and their No. 1 defense from last year was marred by dropped passes, missed assignments, lost contested balls, and others that got snatched away. Putting a positive spin on it, Flacco indicated afterwards that the unit must be tougher mentally and physically to stand up to the best teams in the NFL. They were better on Day 2, but not yet AFC North-ready for the likes of Cincy and Baltimore in Weeks 1 and 2.
The joint sessions also showed that perhaps the four-way competition prevented the starters from becoming a cohesive unit, and that they must have a sense of urgency from here on out. The Browns did a great job of “two-spotting” QB reps on dual fields to maximize snaps, but there’s still a lot to be said for time-on-task between the starting quarterback and his supporting cast.
The Browns had all four QBs using the same cadence for uniformity, but they’re all different nonetheless. The centers snapped the ball to QBs ranging from 5-11 to 6-6, and the receivers had to adjust to different ball speeds, placement and timing. Some are better than others at articulating the play, sliding the protections, managing the motions and making adjustments.
Sometime soon, Stefanski will announce Flacco as the starter for the “dress rehearsal” game Aug. 23 against the Rams, but he should also deep-six the competition now and name him the starter for opening day. It’s time for everyone on both sides of the ball to know the starter and get behind him. Stefanski would get no argument from veterans who watched Flacco lead the Browns to a 4-1 mark in 2023 and a wild ride to the playoffs.
“We have faith in the room and the coaches’ decisions, but we’ve been around Joe and he’s done a great job for us, led us to the playoffs a couple of years ago,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “So we have all the faith in him. Obviously we hope all our quarterbacks aren’t banged up, kind of how it is right now. But he’s shown that he can lead this team, and his poise and his confidence in the huddle is what you’d expect from an 18-year vet.
“We have all the confidence in the world in whoever they put out there, but Joe’s obviously been the healthiest guy and kind of our option right now.”
Bitonio acknowledged that he’s never seen this many QBs get injured in camp -- or this many on the roster for that matter. The Browns now have six, including Deshaun Watson, who’s on the active/Physically Unable to Perform List, and Tyler “Snoop” Huntley, who was signed two weeks ago when Gabriel got hurt. As it stands, Gabriel will start Saturday against the Eagles only if his hamstring can take it -- a possible gametime decision -- and Huntley might also get the nod. It’s not exactly what Stefanski had on his QB-competition playsheet.
“I haven’t (seen anything like this),” said Bitonio, who’s seen plenty in his 12 NFL seasons. “I was wondering what the record is for most quarterbacks on the roster at one point with Deshaun and Snoop, getting up to six, so I was curious about that. But they don’t really get hit or anything, so usually the quarterbacks are the healthiest in camp … but coach Stefanski and the staff have really done a good job of navigating it.“
Even if everyone were healthy, Flacco might’ve won the job outright, given his experience, familiarity with the scheme and personnel, and ability to hit the explosive plays to Jerry Jeudy and others. He has complete command of the huddle, and instills confidence in some of the younger players such as tight end Harold Fannin Jr., running back Dylan Sampson, and receiver Jamari Thrash. He already has good chemistry with Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku and the offensive line.
He’s also moved well this camp, and as Stefanski has observed, is more athletic than folks think. At 6-6, he can see over the redwoods in front of him, and play tall ball with his bigger receivers. He just has to stay away from too many picks while also maintaining his gunslinger mentality.
During joint practices, Flacco was a little envious of fellow Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts not having to share team reps and getting into a rhythm.
“That’s big,” he said. “It’s obviously advantageous to have a guy back there 90% of the time, and you get going with everybody. You get to hear the cadence, you get to see how he operates and see how he does through tough times and good times.”
He acknowledged, however, that “in this league, the situation isn’t always just laid out for you perfectly. You’ve got to be able to adapt, and there’s no excuses.”
For his part, Flacco isn’t focused on when Stefanski will name his man.
“Kevin’s Kevin, man,” he said. “He’s the one in charge, and I’m not really looking into when he’s going to do things and why he’s going to do things. I’m just going out there and being myself and feel really confident about what I’ve been doing.”
It’s time for Stefanski to toss Flacco the keys to this Browns bus, and let him take it for a ride.
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