Before he landed with the Colts, Joe Flacco was expecting to re-sign with the Browns. After previously stating a desire to stick in Cleveland, the veteran QB told NFL.com’s Nick Shook that he was a “little bit” surprised that he didn’t end up re-signing with the organization.
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In 2023, Flacco didn’t find a deal until November when he caught on with Cleveland’s practice squad. With Deshaun Watson out for the season and Dorian Thompson-Robinson sidelined with a concussion, the stopgap was inserted into the starting lineup late in the season.
Flacco unexpectedly guided the Browns to a 4-1 record in his five starts, earning Comeback Player of the Year after completing 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also started Cleveland’s lone playoff game, a blowout loss to the Texans.
Still, following an underwhelming 2022 stint with the Jets, Flacco’s 2023 campaign put him firmly back on the QB2 map. In addition to the Colts, Flacco also received interest from the Eagles.
“It was obviously a little bit different than last offseason, when I didn’t get any calls at all,” Flacco said of his 2024 free agent experience. “But even this offseason, I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go. It wasn’t like I played a ton of games last year or anything like that, but definitely grateful for Indy to reach out and have this as an opportunity.”
While Flacco’s re-emergence was a great story in Cleveland, Shook notes that the veteran didn’t fit the archetype that the organization was seeking behind Watson. The Browns ended up pivoting to a pair of new backups, adding both Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley to the mix at quarterback.
While Flacco was brought in to Cleveland to plug a temporary hole in the starting lineup, he was signed by the Colts to serve as a mentor to Anthony Richardson. In the ideal scenario, the 39-year-old Flacco would barely see the field in 2024, but the former Super Bowl MVP is more than comfortable in that role.
“Listen, I’ve kind of been in this role for a handful of years now,” Flacco said. “Obviously, last year was a little bit different cause I wasn’t anywhere, I was able to come in and play pretty quickly. But yeah, it’s just about being in the room with him and a lot of conversations naturally come up when you spend so much time together in a row. It’s just kind of I think being able to bring the experience and being able to help him simplify things and go out there and play fast and use his skillset the way he wants to.”