Joe Flacco’s message to the Browns: ‘I can still do it’

BEREA, Ohio — Joe Flacco knows the narrative.

As the NFL’s second-oldest quarterback, Flacco — part of a four-man competition for the Cleveland Browns’ starting job — is regarded as a master of his craft who won’t require many practice reps to prepare for his 18th season.

Throughout the spring, and during the first few days of training camp, Flacco spent a disproportionate amount of time standing around while fourth-year passer Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders sucked up snaps.

Having commenced a second stint with the Browns in April, the 40-year-old former Super Bowl MVP wasn’t freaking out about it, but he wasn’t thrilled, either.

“I think there’s probably some truth to the fact that maybe I don’t need as many reps,” Flacco told The Athletic last week, before the Browns’ first padded practice of the summer. “But I do need reps. And not only do I need reps, I want reps. I like reps. I want to get better. And also, I want to be able to show guys, hey, I can still do it.”

Thanks to the hamstring injury Pickett sustained on the fourth day of training camp, Flacco has been getting more opportunities with the first-team offense. This week, he was listed atop the Browns’ first summer depth chart. He’s determined to convince his teammates and Browns coach Kevin Stefanski that he’s the same player he was in 2023, when Flacco signed with Cleveland in November and helped secure a playoff berth with four victories in five starts.

For his efforts, Flacco was voted the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year. Yet the Browns never offered him a chance to come back to Cleveland in 2024, surprising many around the NFL — and some in the team’s locker room.

“I was more pissed than surprised,” clarified tight end David Njoku, who made the Pro Bowl during that 2023 season.

The Browns were in a weird spot. In March 2022, they’d traded five draft picks, including three first-rounders, to the Houston Texans for embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson, signing the three-time Pro Bowl selection to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.

Watson, whose first season in Cleveland included an 11-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy (after he was accused of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions by two dozen women), was plagued by shoulder injuries in 2023, undergoing season-ending surgery that November. When healthy, he looked nothing like he had during his four seasons with the Texans, often appearing tentative and overmatched.

With so much invested in Watson, Browns general manager Andrew Berry and the team’s other decision-makers knew that Flacco’s return last season might ramp up the pressure by creating a viable alternative at QB.

It’s a moot point now: Watson suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon last October, then ruptured the same tendon again and underwent a second surgery in January, which could keep him out all of 2025. In March, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam acknowledged that the Watson trade was “a big swing and miss,” cementing the perception that the Browns will move on from him after the season.

In the meantime, Cleveland is attempting to rebound from an ugly 3-14 campaign — and may once again turn to Flacco, who went 2-4 as a starter for the Indianapolis Colts last season. Stefanski, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, may not have the luxury of overseeing another lost season and keeping his job. Given that backdrop, it might be risky to entrust his offense (now coordinated by Tommy Rees, who took over for the fired Ken Dorsey in January) to Gabriel (drafted in the third round) or Sanders (selected in the fifth after a high-profile freefall).

“I’m very open-minded,” Stefanski said. “I want to make sure that we go through this process, that we give these guys reps and learn from it.”

Joe Flacco, right, said he wants to help rookies Shedeur Sanders (left) and Dillon Gabriel (not pictured) any way he can. (Jason Miller / Getty Images)

Pickett, drafted in the first round in 2022 by the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, is attempting to rebuild his career after a one-year stint as Jalen Hurts’ backup for the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles. He had taken the bulk of the first-team reps before hurting his hamstring — he has since resumed participating in individual drills — but Stefanski said his plan was always to increase Flacco’s load as the regular season approached.

“Joe’s seen it all and he relies on his experience, but I think it’d be unfair to Joe to give him nothing,” Stefanski said. “Because number one, he’s got to stay sharp. Technically, he needs to work on all those fundamentals and types of things. But also, he wants to show what he can do. And I think his teammates want to see it as well.”

Said Flacco: “I don’t want them to assume I can or can’t. I don’t want people to think, ‘Why is Joe doing this?’ I want to show them why I’m doing it. I can adjust to the fact that if I have to go play with (only) a little bit of reps, I’ll do it. The harder part is not getting to show who I am.

“And listen, I like to play football. When you’re on the practice field and there’s reps going around, you want to be in there and you want to be getting them.”

right in the bucket for @g1baller @JoeFlacco | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/fR7a9ULnlJ

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 2, 2025

A first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2008, Flacco was an instant starter as a rookie. He’s mindful that the Browns could choose a similar course with Gabriel or Sanders, each of whom was a prolific player in college. After trading up to take Sanders in the fifth round, the Browns rejected multiple trade offers for Gabriel, preferring to move forward with both rookies. Sanders, who sat out Saturday’s practice with a sore throwing shoulder, has gotten fewer first-team reps than Gabriel thus far. Gabriel was limited by hamstring tightness on Monday.

Some veterans tend to give the cold shoulder to rookies who might displace them, but Flacco said he is committed to helping Gabriel and Sanders adjust to the NFL.

“Listen, I can be an a——, but not necessarily in that way,” Flacco said. “I feel like I try to be a good person, so all I can do is do my job to the best of my ability. If that means I’m not the guy, well, yeah, I might feel a certain way about it, but I’m not gonna be bitter about it towards other people that didn’t do anything to me.

“That quarterback room is a sacred room. I think you’ve got to treat people right in that room and help them — anything to help the team.”

Like Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers’ newly signed 41-year-old starter, Flacco is convinced he can still play at a high level. Thus far, Stefanski seems inclined to agree. He said Flacco is “making all the throws that we’re accustomed to seeing him make … he’s still spinning it.”

Flacco, who unleashed one of the most epic deep balls of the 21st century — the 70-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones that carried the Ravens to a shocking divisional-round upset of the Denver Broncos, en route to their Super Bowl XLVII victory in 2013 — insisted he can still throw the ball that far.

“I mean, I think everybody’s probably a little bit unrealistic when they’re self-evaluating,” he said, laughing, “but I’m honest with myself. Maybe I’m not my 29-year-old self, but I feel really good. I feel that I can still move, and my arm is all of what it’s ever been.”

He just wants the reps to prove it.

(Top photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)