-
Daniel Oyefusi
BEREA, Ohio — Joe Flacco will open the season as the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback, the team announced Monday.
Flacco, who is entering his 18th NFL season, will also start in the team’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams at home on Saturday. Coach Kevin Stefanski said he would treat the game as a dress rehearsal for the regular season. Flacco did not play in Cleveland’s first two preseason games.
The Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals Week 1.
The Browns entered training with a quarterback competition between four contenders: Flacco, Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders (Deshaun Watson has spent training camp on the physically unable to perform list as he rehabs an Achilles injury). However, injuries and a clear delineation of practice reps led Flacco to take an overwhelming majority of first-team reps.
Pickett, a 2022 first-round pick whom the Browns traded for in the offseason, has not participated in 11-on-11 drills since injuring his hamstring on July 26. Gabriel, a third-round pick, did not play in the preseason opener because of a hamstring injury. And Sanders, a fifth-round pick, did not receive any reps with the starting offense during camp. Sanders also missed the second preseason game because of an oblique injury. The Browns on Aug. 4 signed Tyler Huntley to provide depth amid a slew of quarterback injuries.
Flacco, 40, is back with the Browns for a second stint following a five-game stretch in the 2023 season that rivaled any that the franchise has seen from a quarterback since its return to Cleveland in 1999. In the aftermath of Watson’s season-ending shoulder injury in November 2023, the Browns signed Flacco. They went 4-1 in five regular-season starts under Flacco, who threw for over 300 yards in four straight wins before the run came to an end in a loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round. Flacco was later named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year.
Flacco spent the 2024 season with the Indianapolis Colts and was 2-4 as a starter before rejoining the Browns on a one-year deal worth $4 million.
Selected in the first round of the 2008 draft by the Baltimore Ravens, Flacco has thrown for 45,697 yards with 257 touchdowns and 162 interceptions in 17 seasons. He was named the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII when he led the Ravens to victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Cleveland travels to Baltimore in Week 2. The game would mark Flacco’s first start in Baltimore since he was traded by the Ravens after the 2018 season.
Flacco is one of three quarterbacks to have a winning record with the Browns since their return, along with Brian Hoyer (10-6) and Case Keenum (2-0).