A high-profile quarterback battle is unfolding in Cleveland.
The absence of $230million Deshaun Watson has left a hole on the Browns roster that will be filled by one of four signal callers come Week 1 of the NFL season.
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Veteran Joe Flacco has returned to lead an inexperienced quarterback room compiled of fourth-year star Kenny Pickett, as well as rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
The starting role is very much up for grabs after a dismal 3-14 finish last season, with one reporter suggesting Sanders has enough star power to win it in 2025, despite arriving as the 144th overall pick of the draft after an all-time slide.
He is certainly generating the most headlines, both on and off the field, but longtime Browns insider Tony Grossi believes it will be Flacco who starts in 2025, thanks in part to what he achieved last time around with the franchise.
“We in Cleveland went on a magic carpet ride with Joe Flacco in 2023,” Grossi exclusively told talkSPORT’s Brian T. Smith.
“He came onto the team in late November, the Browns were in the middle of a playoff chase and he put up incredible numbers,
instant 300 yard passing games.
“They won four out of his five starts. Not only do the fans remember that feeling, but to me, it was the greatest month in the Browns’ expansion history.
“Every game was fun. For the first time, they had a legit offense.
“Not only was it fun to the media and fans, but the players too and there’s still players in the locker room — mostly on the offensive line — who just fell in love with Flacco.
“So he’s got a big edge in this quarterback competition for that reason.”
Indeed, Flacco had a fantastic run with the Browns back in 2023.
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After Watson went down with a season-ending injury, he was named the starter for Week 13, and threw for two touchdowns and 254 yards against the Los Angeles Rams.
The following week, Flacco led the Browns to a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, completing 26 of 45 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns.
He was then announced as the starter moving forward, and threw for another 368 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in a 36-22 victory against the Houston Texans in Week 16.
Flacco ended the regular season against the New York Jets with three touchdowns and 296 yards in the first half alone, en-route to a convincing 37-20 win that clinched the Browns a playoff spot for the first time in three years.
While he made a decent start in the Wild Card match-up against the Texans in January 2024, Cleveland’s postseason dream ended with a 45-14 loss.
Despite defeat, the 38-year-old quarterback was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year, becoming the oldest player to win the award since Jim Martin in 1963.
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Now at 40 years of age, Flacco’s previous exploits in Cleveland have him in prime position to take the starting role again in 2025.
But there will be other factors behind the decision, too.
“He’s done it in the Kevin Stefanski system. They’re going back to that offense,” Grossi said of Flacco’s previous experience with the Browns head coach.
“They went astray last year trying to accommodate Deshaun Watson with a shotgun spread attack. It was a dismal failure.
“Now they’re going back to what Stefanski does and Flacco executed it perfectly.
“He is also a physical freak… he’ll be throwing 100 mph fastballs well into his forties. He still has an elite arm and he has a great knack for avoiding sacks.”
While Grossi has predicted more Flacco magic in 2025, he also noted that Cleveland’s history would suggest a player like Sanders could easily win the starting role at some point next season.
“The last two years they have started nine different quarterbacks,” the insider, who has also discussed Myles Garrett’s mindset, explained.
JOE FLACCO’S NFL HIGHLIGHTS
Flacco is the veteran in Cleveland’s QB room, and has serious experience
Years in NFL: 17
Super Bowl XLVII champion
Super Bowl XLVII MVP
NFL Comeback Player of the Year 2023
NFL record for passing touchdowns in single postseason: 11 (2012)
Passing attempts: 6,751
Passing completions: 4,166
Completion percentage: 61.7%
Touchdowns: 257
Passing yards: 45,697
“Four last year and five the year before. They made the playoffs with four different quarterbacks winning games two years ago, it just happens in Cleveland like that.
“They have a brutal early schedule, which includes the game in London against the Minnesota Vikings.
“That’s why I think a veteran will start the season, but inevitably things happen.
“And people in Cleveland, mostly the Shedeur fans, but overall people say, ‘You’ve got these two rookies, you’ve got to find out about them before the end of the year.’
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“I say baloney, they’re on four-year contracts. What’s the rush?
“So I don’t see the haste, but I expect Shedeur to start, I expect [to see] Dillon Gabriel.”
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