The Cleveland Browns made an odd preseason decision, hitching the fate of the early 2025 season to a 40-year-old Joe Flacco. Drafting two rookie signal-callers would appear to indicate that the organization is going to do due diligence on both potential starting options. The hope is to find a long-term answer at the position, with the understanding that failure means a great draft pick and another shot at the endless search for a franchise quarterback.
Instead, the Browns are going to start an aging player who isn't going to have any chance of leading the franchise to contention. While one could argue that this is the case for each of the trio of options, we have years of recent evidence that Flacco is a great out of the bullpen in a pinch, not someone a team should put at the top of their rotation and trust to carry them.
Browns QB Joe Flacco Could Be Benched After Week 1
Keeping this in mind, there are two factors here that could very quickly lead the former Super Bowl MVP to the bench in Week 1. The first is the fact that the years of punishment Flacco has taken for several organizations. Quarterbacks rarely get more durable as they age, with the only exception being Tom Brady. There is no correlation between the greatest quarterback to ever do it and the one-time SB champ.
Flacco staying upright and healthy against Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals' Week 1 pass rush is a major concern. One that could easily result in Flacco exiting either in Week 1 or further down the line, leading to the next potential issue: fan frustration. You're playing Joe Burrow and a frustrated Bengals team to kick off the season.
Much has been made of the Browns' slow starts and games that they fumbled away early last year. The Bengals are going to be completely locked in, and the talent disparity between Burrow and Flacco is going to be glaring. This sets up a very possible scenario where Flacco is pulled from the game, which is likely going to fall out of hand.
If the Browns have clearly lost control, there isn't a viable reason not to toss Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel on the field in hopes of sparking something offensively. No matter what direction you look from, it is clear that Flacco's spot is in trouble with Cleveland, having zero reason to offer him job security.
Even if the former Baltimore Ravens star can stay healthy for the 2025 season, the Browns' schedule sets up a grueling early gauntlet that features the Ravens, Green Bay Packers, and Detroit Lions. It would be genuinely shocking if Cleveland won any of those games.
The Browns simply aren't going to win enough this season, and history tells us that starting a 40-year-old quarterback rarely ages well. Don't be shocked if the Flacco experiment ends as early as Week 1.