The Cleveland Browns made the safe choice by naming Joe Flacco their starting quarterback. But Flacco topping the depth chart only puts a band aid on Cleveland’s quarterback carousel.
Flacco was always the leading candidate to start. He’s taken the lion share of first-team reps for the Browns this offseason. Furthermore, he has familiarity with head coach Kevin Stefanski’s system. Dating back to 2023 when Flacco started five straight games for the Browns, went 4-1 during the stretch and helped the team earn a playoff berth.
"He's the same guy every single day. I think that's one of the things you admire about Joe is how he approaches his business. He's done a really nice job in camp,” Stefanski said on Aug. 13, via the team’s official website. “He's also done a really nice job just providing leadership to the quarterback room, to the offense and to the football team."
The Browns have a daunting schedule to begin the regular season. They host the Cincinnati Bengals to open the year and then have five consecutive games against 2024 playoff teams.
The first six games are bound to be difficult for Cleveland no matter who starts at QB, especially for Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
