Joe Flacco named Browns starting quarterback for Week 1 vs. the Bengals

Of the four QBs, Flacco was the only one in training camp not to miss a snap or a practice because of injury. Pickett bowed out of the competition for all intents and purposes when he suffered the hamstring injury on July 26, and Gabriel exited stage left when he suffered a hamstring injury of his own on Aug. 2. Sanders suffered a left oblique strain during last week’s first joint practice against the Eagles, leaving Flacco as the last man standing in the War of Attrition in the quarterback room.

But Flacco certainly didn’t win the job just because of injuries. He’s once again instilled confidence in his teammates, and has led the team in camp like the 18-year veteran and former Super Bowl MVP that he is.

“We’ve seen Joe over the course of his career, we certainly saw it in 2023, the style of play that Joe, really has been his calling card his file life,” Stefanski last week on the Browns’ in-house special Man Under Center. “He’s a pocket passer that can make every throw from the pocket. He’s a better athlete than you think.

“Being on different teams and being in different locker rooms and winning a Super Bowl, those types of experiences are invaluable and he shares those experiences with the football team quite a bit.”

Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has been impressed with his 6-6, cannon-armed passer.

“Joe cool is calm, cool and collected out there,” Rees said. “He gives everybody around him a tremendous amount of confidence just the way he operates the huddle, he commands it, his overall operation and the way he brings out the best in everybody around him is really a benefit for the offense.”

Quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave has appreciated the way Flacco has led the team through a training camp full of quarterback injuries, and the absence all camp of their workhorse running back in Quinshon Judkins.

“His strength is his experience,” Musgrave said. “He’s seen a lot of football. and we don’t need to make a lot of corrections with joe, we just want to put him in position where he can really feature his dominant traits. He can see over the line. At times he can even throw the ball over defenders if they happen to be in front of some of our targets.”

Browns Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio spoke for so many of his teammates when he described their confidence in Flacco.

“We have faith in the room and the coaches’ decisions, but we’ve been around Joe and he’s done a great job for us, led us to the playoffs a couple of years ago,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “So we have all the faith in him. Obviously we hope all our quarterbacks aren’t banged up, kind of how it is right now. But I think he’s shown that he can lead this team and his poise and his confidence in the huddle is what you’d expect from an 18-year vet. We have all the confidence in the world in whoever they put out there, but Joe’s obviously been the healthiest guy and kind of our option right now.”

Myles Garrett, who wanted out back in February because he wanted to win a Super Bowl, gave Flacco a ringing endorsement during mandatory minicamp.

“He’s a calm, cool presence in the QB room, which I think you always need when you have young guys in there,” Garrett said. “It doesn’t hurt at any time. Even if you have a veteran, there’s someone to give you some sound, insightful advice to help you walk through things. That’s always a great asset. So to have that in the QB room, which is the most important room in the building, that’s great.”

But it’s not just the veterans who are enamored with Flacco. Undrafted rookie Gage Larvadain, now a virtual to make the team, practically genuflected towards him a couple of weeks ago, and posted on X August 2 that his life was complete after catching a touchdown pass from Flacco in training camp.

“I don’t know, man,” Larvadain said with an enormous smile during his podium interview Monday. “It’s just one of those things, Big Joe, Mr. Joe Flacco. Just being a kid, just watching him on TV and then you’re like, ‘Dang, Joe!’ You’ve got to look up, he’s so tall, like, ‘Dang, Joe Flacco.” So it’s just one of those things where it’s like, dang, you grow up watching him and then you get to be his teammate and then you get to catch a touchdown from him in training camp. It’s just a dream.”

After the joint practice against the Panthers two weeks ago, Flacco made his own case for the job.

“I’m just out here enjoying it and doing the best I can every single day, trying to show these guys that, man, I can do it,” he said. “You should have confidence in me.”

Signed April 11 — almost as an afterthought — to a one-year deal worth $4 million, Flacco didn’t get many reps early on in minicamp and training camp while team was trying to get the three younger guys up to speed and give them enough reps to remain in the competition.

But he remained patient until those 11-on-11 reps started flowing his way.

“The last couple of weeks, honestly, it’s been pretty good for me,” Flacco said on Aug. 13. “I’ve gotten to get more reps and get comfortable, and feel like I’m doing things at a pretty high level.”

During joint practices against the Eagles last week, Flacco was a bit envious of fellow Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts not having to share team reps and getting into a rhythm.

“Yeah, that’s big,” he said. “It’s obviously advantageous to have a guy back there 90% of the time, and you get going with everybody. You get to hear the cadence, you get to see how he operates and see how he does through tough times and good times. That’s all great, but in this league, the situation isn’t always just laid out for you perfectly. You’ve got to be able to adapt, and there’s no excuses. Once it all starts, it’s about winning football games no matter what, and that’s the way I approach it.”

This post will be updated.