Joe Flacco appears to be the new frontrunner for the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback competition over recently acquired Pitt Panthers football legend Kenny Pickett.
Joe Flacco is the “Resident Old Guy” in the Cleveland Browns’ four-man quarterback competition, as Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein pointed out.
Still, he may be the team’s new QB1 frontrunner over Pitt Panthers football legend Kenny Pickett, too.
Epstein dubbed Flacco the “early frontrunner” in Berea on the first day of training camp.
“To avoid the endless repetition on Flacco’s age, can we all just agree he’s a quadragenarian? The 2008 first-round draft pick won his Super Bowl MVP award following the 2012 season. For those counting at home, it is 2025. But Flacco isn’t just old, as Sanders likes to remind him — he’s also overflowing with knowledge and experience, of the Browns’ offense to be specific from his 2023 playoff run, and of the NFL defenses the Browns will need a QB to diagnose. Flacco returns to Cleveland with a 105-86 career regular-season record, completing 61.7% of his passes for 45,697 yards, 257 touchdowns and 162 interceptions as a pro. He’s competed in seven different playoff runs,” Epstein wrote.
“But in his 2024 stint with the Indianapolis Colts, Flacco was not at his peak. He completed 65.3% of passes and threw 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions as he averaged 220.1 yards per game last season. The Colts won just two of six games he started.
“Even so, it’s fair to consider Flacco the early frontrunner for Week 1 starter. Browns brass emphasized decision-making and processing as key tenets of how they’ll decide who starts the season, and Flacco’s six games (playoffs included) with head coach Kevin Stefanski and Cleveland in 2023 give him a head start. He’s so ahead that he was “punished” with minimal reps in offseason activities. If the Browns believe he’s their best option to start the season, they’ll want to reallocate reps in the coming weeks. If they believe someone else can keep up — keep an eye on the trade market.”
Browns receiver Diontae Johnson predicted Pickett to be Cleveland’s choice by the time the season rolled around, though he also included Flacco’s name in the starting conversation.
“I think I'm going to roll with Kenny for right now. I'm really seeing Kenny going on like right now with the ones, but then Joe will come in. I think they're probably going to roll with him. Just like to see, like just coming off the season, he was with Philly and having a Super Bowl,” Johnson said on a recent episode of “The Comeback.”
“So I'd rather see, I think they're going to stick with him through preseason and then, you know, they can live with what Joe comes and brings to the table.”
Flacco starting for the Browns was always the most logical option. He’s made it clear he’s not in Cleveland to be a mentor, while Pickett has gladly accepted that role.
After going 4-2 during the 2023/2024 season/playoffs, Flacco is a call-back to a much more successful run than last fall.
We’ll see if the Browns can parlay that positive nostalgia into any success this year if they stick with Flacco through training camp and the preseason.
Category: General Sports
