Before joining the Colts, Joe Flacco planned to re-sign with the Browns.
After earlier expressing a desire to stay in Cleveland, the veteran quarterback told NFL.com’s Nick Shook that he was “a little surprised” that he did not re-sign with the franchise.
In 2023, Flacco did not find a job until November, when he joined Cleveland’s practice squad. With Deshaun Watson out for the season and Dorian Thompson-Robinson injured with a concussion, the stopgap was added to the starting lineup late in the season.
Flacco unexpectedly led the Browns to a 4-1 record in five games, winning Comeback Player of the Year after completing 60.3% of his throws for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also started Cleveland’s only postseason game, which was a blowout loss to the Texans.
Nonetheless, after a dismal 2022 season with the Jets, Flacco’s 2023 campaign put him squarely back on the QB2 map. In addition to the Colts, the Eagles expressed interest in Flacco.
“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 resurgence was a nice story in Cleveland, Shook points out that the veteran did not match the archetype that the team was looking for behind Watson. The Browns ended up relying on two new backup quarterbacks, Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley.
While Flacco was brought in to fill a temporary opening in Cleveland’s starting lineup, the Colts signed him to serve as Anthony Richardson’s mentor. In an ideal world, the 39-year-old Flacco would see little action in 2024, but the former Super Bowl MVP is perfectly content with 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.”
