I’ve been pretty confident all offseason that Flacco was probably going to start the Browns’ first game of the year – and yesterday, Kevin Stefanski confirmed as much. Nobody should be surprised: Like I wrote at the beginning of last month, we know what we’re getting if we run out with Flacco. He’s not going to be a superstar or a top-five quarterback, but he’s a very high-floor safety net with a long enough tenure in this league to not get rattled by the first half of our schedule.
I’ve seen a few people upset at the decision, but it really makes sense – especially if you’ve been following along this offseason. Kenny Pickett probably wasn’t going to beat him out for the starting job, but he’s been injured for almost all of training camp, so he couldn’t have gotten the nod anyway – and the rookies are rookies.
Is it probable that Flacco plays every game for us? Not at all. But the first six games of our season are against five playoff teams and our in-state rivals. It is a six-week gauntlet that no team would want to have to run through, and Vegas doesn’t have us winning any of them. If a rookie came out on the field Week 1 and went 0-6, how do you think the fanbase would react? Even if the quarterback played great and we lost each game for other reasons, the already-toxic community growing in Cleveland’s comment sections would be screaming to bench whoever it is, which would likely negatively affect the player even more than the record. No matter how much players insist that they tune out the distractions, it’s demoralizing to see an entire fanbase turn against you – especially as a rookie.
Joe Flacco, on the other hand, is used to it. His career has had the highest highs and pretty low lows, and he’s heard everything there is to say. It also helps that he knows he’s in the role temporarily – Joe still wants to win, of course, but he’s aware of the fact that he’s probably getting benched at some point. When we decide one of the younger guys is ready to take over the offense, they will. If Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders were to start Week 1, though, there’s a lot more pressure to not get benched.
When it’s always at the back of your mind that any mistake could get you replaced with the other rookie (and potentially end your career as a starting quarterback), it’s a lot more likely that each mistake weighs on them that much more and is that much harder to recover from. Allowing the young guys a few weeks to sit and watch how a successful, accomplished, and experienced quarterback processes the game can only help them improve – they get used to the game speed of the regular season and learn from any mistakes being made without making any for themselves. Not only that, but it allows them more time to get ready to play at some point this season – the draft was less than four months ago and it could never hurt to continue preparing them for their eventual debuts.
As for when Joe Flacco should get replaced, there are a couple of decent options. Many people think that Flacco should just play those first six games, with either Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel taking over in Week 7 against the Dolphins. The Dolphins and Patriots (our Week 8 opponent) are certainly easier teams to make a debut against, but I think that it makes the most sense to keep Flacco out there until the Week 9 bye. Letting Joe play those extra two games would give the next man up a full two weeks running the 1st team offense before facing off against the Jets in Week 10. Of course, one of them could always break out and earn the role at any point this season – but don’t be shocked if this is our 3rd-straight year with four or more starting quarterbacks. If nobody is miles ahead of the other QBs in the room, it’s very plausible that we give all three of the younger players a few games each to earn themselves the job for the 2026 season.
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