BEREA, Ohio — At 40 years outdated, Joe Flacco is by far the elder statesman within the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback room.
Flacco, although, reiterated that he’s not trying to take a again seat and mentor the workforce’s younger passers however reasonably to steer by instance in an try to win the quarterback competitors.
“It is not likely about that. It is simply not the principle focus,” Flacco stated Wednesday after the Browns’ second OTA observe. “I see myself as a man that may play on this league. So, in case your important focus was similar to, hey, however I will get you prepared, you are simply not taking good care of enterprise. The easiest way to be a mentor, truthfully, is to indicate individuals the way you go to work and, like I stated, hope that they choose up on that stuff, however not essentially drive them to choose up on the issues that you simply do.”
Flacco is one in all 4 wholesome quarterbacks, together with 2020 first-round choose Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, who’re vying for the Browns’ beginning job. Deshaun Watson stays sidelined by a proper Achilles damage that the workforce has stated will value him a good portion of the 2025 season.
In April, Flacco signed a one-year deal value $4 million to return to Cleveland, the place he received the NFL’s Comeback Participant of the 12 months award in 2023 and helped lead the Browns to the playoffs after being signed late within the season. Flacco spent the 2024 season with the Indianapolis Colts and went 2-4 as a starter.
“Joe bodily has been gifted with the flexibility to throw the soccer. He seems to be the identical to me,” coach Kevin Stefanski stated. “… It is simply enjoyable having some veterans in that room, some younger guys within the quarterback room. They actually feed off of one another. And definitely, Joe has loads to clarify to the blokes or lots of knowledge to impart on these guys of issues which have come up in his profession.”
Throughout Wednesday’s observe, Flacco break up first-team reps in workforce drills with Pickett. The 2 have been then typically adopted by Gabriel after which Sanders in observe reps. Stefanski once more downplayed the importance of the reps and stated the order will range over the course of the offseason exercise program.
Pickett likened the presence of Flacco, who’s getting into his 18th NFL season, to that of a coach due to his huge expertise.
“It is like having one other coach when a man that is performed that a lot soccer, you could possibly bounce concepts off of, ask him what he noticed, how he would learn sure issues earlier in his profession,” Pickett stated. “There’s simply so many issues, small issues which you can be taught. Simply having that ordinary, you recognize, open dialogue that now we have within the quarterback room.”
The Browns’ second OTA observe was a jam-packed session designed to maximise reps for every quarterback. At one level, the rookie quarterbacks performed workforce drills on one aspect of the sphere whereas the veteran passers stayed on a separate discipline to work.
Flacco, who was named Most Worthwhile Participant of Tremendous Bowl XLVII after main the Baltimore Ravens to their second championship, stated he hasn’t been in a quarterback competitors since his sophomore yr of highschool. However he is having fun with the dynamic of the quarterbacks room and the youth of Sanders and Gabriel.
“Shedeur has been nice. I imply, he is lots of enjoyable to be round in these assembly rooms,” Flacco stated. “I believe up to now, there’s been no less than as soon as within the assembly room that he is made me crack a smile, and that is what it is all about. You already know, he is a younger man attempting to be taught some soccer and are available out right here and observe effectively and do these issues. And like I stated, he is been lots of enjoyable. I in all probability wasn’t too distant from enjoying in opposition to his dad, and now I am enjoying with him.”
