BEREA, Ohio — At 40 years outdated, Joe Flacco is by far the elder statesman within the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback room.
Flacco, although, reiterated that he’s not trying to take a again seat and mentor the workforce’s younger passers however reasonably to guide by instance in an try and win the quarterback competitors.
“It is probably not about that. It is simply not the principle focus,” Flacco mentioned Wednesday after the Browns’ second OTA apply. “I see myself as a man that may play on this league. So, in case your essential focus was similar to, hey, however I’ll get you prepared, you are simply not taking good care of enterprise. One of the best ways to be a mentor, truthfully, is to indicate individuals the way you go to work and, like I mentioned, hope that they choose up on that stuff, however not essentially pressure them to choose up on the issues that you simply do.”
Flacco is certainly one of 4 wholesome quarterbacks, together with 2020 first-round choose Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, who’re vying for the Browns’ beginning job. Deshaun Watson stays sidelined by a proper Achilles harm that the workforce has mentioned will price him a good portion of the 2025 season.
In April, Flacco signed a one-year deal value $4 million to return to Cleveland, the place he gained the NFL’s Comeback Participant of the 12 months award in 2023 and helped lead the Browns to the playoffs after being signed late within the season. Flacco spent the 2024 season with the Indianapolis Colts and went 2-4 as a starter.
“Joe bodily has been gifted with the flexibility to throw the soccer. He seems to be the identical to me,” coach Kevin Stefanski mentioned. “… It is simply enjoyable having some veterans in that room, some younger guys within the quarterback room. They actually feed off of one another. And positively, Joe has lots to clarify to the blokes or a variety of knowledge to impart on these guys of issues which have come up in his profession.”
Throughout Wednesday’s apply, Flacco break up first-team reps in workforce drills with Pickett. The 2 had been then usually adopted by Gabriel after which Sanders in apply reps. Stefanski once more downplayed the importance of the reps and mentioned the order will fluctuate over the course of the offseason exercise program.
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Pickett likened the presence of Flacco, who’s coming into his 18th NFL season, to that of a coach due to his huge expertise.
“It is like having one other coach when a man that is performed that a lot soccer, you may bounce concepts off of, ask him what he noticed, how he would learn sure issues earlier in his profession,” Pickett mentioned. “There’s simply so many issues, small issues you can study. Simply having that standard, you understand, open dialogue that we’ve got within the quarterback room.”
The Browns’ second OTA apply was a jam-packed session designed to maximise reps for every quarterback. At one level, the rookie quarterbacks carried out workforce drills on one aspect of the sector whereas the veteran passers stayed on a separate discipline to work.
Flacco, who was named Most Worthwhile Participant of Tremendous Bowl XLVII after main the Baltimore Ravens to their second championship, mentioned he hasn’t been in a quarterback competitors since his sophomore 12 months of highschool. However he is having fun with the dynamic of the quarterbacks room and the youth of Sanders and Gabriel.
“Shedeur has been nice. I imply, he is a variety of enjoyable to be round in these assembly rooms,” Flacco mentioned. “I feel to date, there’s been at the very least as soon as within the assembly room that he is made me crack a smile, and that is what it is all about. You already know, he is a younger man attempting to study some soccer and are available out right here and apply nicely and do these issues. And like I mentioned, he is been a variety of enjoyable. I most likely wasn’t too distant from enjoying towards his dad, and now I am enjoying with him.”
