BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Kevin Stefanski resolved the biggest storyline of the Cleveland Browns training camp by naming Joe Flacco the starting quarterback on Monday.
But as is the case with the quarterback position in Brownstown, naming a starter for the Week 1 opener against the Cincinnati Bengals set off a new round of questions.
The one at the top of everyone’s mind is how long Flacco thinks he can hang on to the job? Of the 10 quarterbacks who have started a game for the Browns since they traded Baker Mayfield in 2022, Flacco is tied for fifth with five starts in 2023, when he went 4-1 and directed Cleveland to its third playoff berth since returning to the league in 1999.
“Well, we all know how that works. I mean, that’s everybody in the league, but it’s not really my job to look at it in that way. It’s just to go out there and play my game. Kind of like I’ve been doing all training camp and not worrying about all that stuff, just going out there, playing my game and being the best I can,” Flacco said Tuesday. “I felt like I was having a good camp with the reps that I was given, and that’s all you can do.”
Flacco would also become the 11th different quarterback in league history to start a Week 1 game when they were at least 40 years old.
Even though Flacco was the only Browns quarterback who has not missed time during training camp because of an injury, Stefanski said the decision went beyond what has transpired for the last month.
“I understand with the injuries, how that may look, that’s really not the case here,” he said. “Joe performed really well, both in practice, in the joint practices, in the meeting room, you name it. What he’s able to bring to the football team, he’s earned that role.”
Stefanski has not determined if Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders will be Flacco’s backup. General manager Andrew Berry also has one week to determine if the team will indeed keep four quarterbacks on the roster. According to Sportradar, that has happened only five times since 2000.
Pickett continues to come back from a hamstring strain but did get some snaps in 11-on-11 drills on Tuesday. Sanders was limited due to an oblique injury.
Flacco and the starters will see action in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams, with the amount of playtime left to be determined.
“I think we all feel pretty good. You only get a certain amount of reps out there, and I think we’ve made the most of it, and I think that’s every team in the league to a certain extent,” Flacco said. “I think the good thing about this week is, we kind of get to put ourselves through a little bit of a game plan and simulate what we would be doing during the year. I think that’s going to give everybody that extra confidence to take that next step.”
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