The Cleveland Browns officially named Joe Flacco their starting quarterback for Week 1, which means the man who piloted the Ravens to a Super Bowl in 2013 before being succeeded by Lamar Jackson five years later should take the field at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore’s home opener on Sept. 14.
“It won’t be the focus right away,” coach John Harbaugh said, “but it’ll be in the back of our minds.”
He noted that the preparation for playing Cleveland at this stage is the same as how the Ravens begin every season — with advance scouting on their first four games. They have to get through Buffalo first before dialing in on an AFC North rival.
Still, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to Baltimore’s longtime coach that his former signal-caller would emerge as the top option in what is perhaps the strangest and most crowded quarterback situation in the NFL.
The controversial Deshaun Watson would have been the incumbent and top option had he not re-torn his right Achilles tendon during rehab in April. Cleveland signed the 40-year-old Flacco to backfill for Watson’s injury. That room also includes Kenny Pickett, who backed up Jalen Hurts during Philadelphia’s Super Bowl run last season. In April, the Browns drafted two quarterbacks, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Then they went out and added another former Ravens quarterback in Tyler Huntley at the start of training camp.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that he expected Cleveland to carry four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, which would be an unconventional practice for any NFL team.
Of the six quarterbacks who have been in contention this offseason, Cleveland landed on the veteran. “Joe Cool leading the way,” their team social media account wrote in a Monday afternoon post.
Harbaugh said they had an idea that Cleveland would pick Flacco as their starter.
“We know Joe can sling it,” he said. “We know he’s capable of doing it, but we also know what kind of team they are and how tough they are to play against.”
The last time Flacco played in Baltimore was for the Ravens on Nov. 4, 2018, in a 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw for 206 yards without a touchdown and exited because of a hip injury that gave way to the eventual two-time Most Valuable Player.
“Man, I did not want to let Lamar get out there, that’s for sure,” Flacco told reporters last season in Indianapolis. “That was my team. And that was very hard mentally for me. I pushed it as far as I could in terms of trying to let them convince me to go out there and play. But at the same time, you don’t want to put your future career in danger.”
Following his 11 years in Baltimore, Flacco bounced from Denver to the New York Jets to Cleveland, Indianapolis and now back to the Browns.
The last time he played against Baltimore was during his three-year stint in New York. It was Week 1 in 2022, a 24-9 loss in which Flacco threw the ball 59 times, completed 37 passes totaling 309 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
“Obviously, his homecoming back here will be a big story,” Harbaugh said, “but just try to focus on playing the best game we can.”
Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.
