Joe Flacco would prefer to be a starter next season but will not rule out a situation where he’s a backup — whether that be with the Cleveland Browns or somewhere else.
Flacco’s career seemed all but over until the Browns called him in mid-November following a season-ending injury to Deshaun Watson.
After being inserted into the starting lineup, Flacco provided a spark for the Browns’ offense. Cleveland went 4-1 in his regular season starts and he passed for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Flacco’s play allowed the injury-plagued Browns to lock up just their third playoff berth since returning to the league in 1999.
Flacco’s feel-good story came to a screeching halt in the postseason. He tossed a pair of costly pick-sixes against the Houston Texans during a 45-14 Wild Card thumping.
Despite his rough playoff outing, there should be a free agent market for the 39-year-old Flacco. At this point in his career, Flacco would like to start as many games as possible. However, he’ll consider a backup role somewhere — including Cleveland — if it feels right.
“One backup job may be different than another backup job,” Flacco said during a recent appearance on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. “There’s spots where I’m going to be comfortable taking that role to some extent. But, obviously, I do want to play some games. I feel like I can do that.”
Joe Flacco Would Consider Returning to Browns
It’s clear to Flacco that if he returns to the Browns, it would be in a backup role. Watson is expected to be ready for training camp after shoulder surgery and the Browns’ $230 million QB will be the unquestioned starter.
Flacco addressed the idea of returning to Cleveland on the “Pardon My Take” podcast.
“I’m open to be back in Cleveland, but I don’t want to rush to any decisions,” Flacco said on January 18. “I can’t say enough good things about how this organization is being run right now.”
Bringing Flacco back could potentially cause some locker-room chemistry issues. He was more productive in the offense than Watson and having Flacco sitting on the bench could put additional pressure on Watson. However, the Browns have said they have put “zero” consideration into that idea, feeling like the two would work well together. Flacco echoed that sentiment.
“I’m not going to go in and be a problem,” Flacco said on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. “I think I’ve shown that I can I can be a guy that helps ‘the guy’ out. Helps the team out, helps a locker room out and does all those things.”
Browns Willing to Invest in Backup QB Like Joe Flacco
Considering Watson’s recent injury issues, keeping a proven veteran like Flacco around should be a priority for Cleveland. Browns general manager Andrew Berry confirmed that backup quarterback will be a spot the team is willing to invest in.
“I think probably if you look at our history over the last four seasons, we’ve always been towards the top of the league in backup quarterback expenditures or resources. Whether it was Case (Keenum) for the first two years, Jacoby (Brisset) last year and then even this year coming into the year with (Josh) Dobbs and Dorian (Thompson-Robinson),” Berry said on January 22. “So it’s something I believe that backup quarterback really is a top 30 position on the roster. And we do believe in carrying three, and that’s something that we’ll probably do moving forward.”
When it comes to Flacco, the Browns are open to a reunion.
“We’d absolutely love to have Joe back. He’s a good quarterback,” Berry said. “I want to bring all of our good players back, but there are constraints to that on really kind of both sides of the aisle, but would have no problem having Joe back.”
Free agency is slated to start in March and the Browns — and Flacco — can sort out their options then.
