It took them longer than some fans would’ve wanted, but the Cleveland Browns finally brought Joe Flacco back.
Flacco ignited this team with hope and electric play to lead the team to the playoffs in the second half of the 2023 season.
He gave the team the best quarterback play of the Kevin Stefanski era, even if things didn’t end up as expected.
When asked about his return to Northeast Ohio, the veteran signal-caller admitted that the loss in the playoffs left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he wants to make the most of the chance to get things right this time:
“Yeah, listen, part of the excitement about coming back is the opportunity to kind of, hopefully, put a stamp on what happened a couple years ago and finish what we started,” Flacco said. “But when you lose playoff games, […] they’re things that you want to get another opportunity to kind of come back and get a redo of. You’re not promised that, and very often you don’t get that opportunity, but it’ll be nice to kind of play for the chance.”
Flacco didn’t look sharp at all in the loss to the Houston Texans, although the team didn’t do much to help his case, either.
That loss may have sealed his fate with the team.
Also, the fact that Deshaun Watson was going to be back to full strength may have led the team to let him go.
According to multiple reports, the Browns didn’t want the fans to start calling for Flacco to be the starter if Watson struggled.
Fast forward to today, and it’s pretty evident that they may not have made the right decision.
The Browns struggled with Watson at the helm, and he’s not a part of the team’s plans going forward.
Flacco will now compete with Kenny Pickett for the starting quarterback job, and there are no guarantees.
Who knows? He might even get a chance to get back at the very same team that ended his first run with the team two years ago.