The Cleveland Browns hit a major public relations move on Friday with the signing of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco.
The move brings back a player who gave Northeast Ohio “Flacco Fever” while helping the Browns reach the playoffs in 2023. (Just set aside those multiple pick-sixes in the playoff game against the Houston Texans.) More importantly, Flacco adds a veteran presence to a quarterback room that prior to this morning had Kenny Pickett as its sole occupant.
Now that the dust has settled over Flacco’s return, the important question is if this will impact Cleveland’s plans for the 2025 NFL Draft.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the transaction gives the Browns flexibility, as Pelissero said on The Rich Eisen Show:
“This is a backup quarterback deal on a team that at the moment does not have a starting quarterback. The contract with Flacco isn’t the kind you hand out if you’re confident he’ll be your full-season starter. It’s about stability, experience, and flexibility.
“The Browns are setting themselves up to draft a quarterback. Now does that happen with the No. 2 pick? That would surprise me at this point, but they have five picks out of the top 105 picks, so they have a lot of draft capital and a lot of ways to move around.”
There are a few things that have been clear for months now about the Browns and the quarterback position:
Deshaun Watson has taken his last snap as a member of the Browns, which was likely true even before he re-tore his Achilles tendon.
Cleveland is selecting a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Having Flacco on the roster does not change either of those truths. If general manager Andrew Berry likes a quarterback at No. 2, he is making the call and not looking back. And if not, the Browns will still be able to select a top player like Colorado’s Travis Hunter or Penn State’s Abdul Carter and then stay on the hunt for a quarterback later in the first round via a trade or with the first selection in the second round.
Flacco represents a decent-enough insurance policy and a player that head coach Kevin Stefanski should feel comfortable with after coaching him in 2023.
If Flacco has to start the season while the rookie quarterback gets up to speed, the Browns can live with that, especially if they get the good Flacco. He has also been around long enough that he should be able to play at a moment’s notice and hold down the fort short-term if called upon.
Dread it. Run from it. But the reality is that the Browns are drafting their next starting quarterback in a couple of weeks.
Not even a repeat case of Flacco Fever will change that.