The biggest storyline during the Cleveland Browns' offseason has been the quarterback situation. Drafting two rookie quarterbacks and adding two veteran signal-callers over the spring left many NFL fans wondering what the short and long-term plan is in Cleveland. After spending all summer trying to decide between four quarterbacks, the Browns finally made their decision this week and announced 40-year-old Joe Flacco as their QB1 to start the season.
Yet, the drama surrounding the QB room is still not over. There are reports that the Browns will still bring all of Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel into the season on the 53-man roster, in addition to Flacco. This highlights the high probability that Flacco will be benched at some point in the season to give one of the younger signal-callers a chance to start.
In fact, Flacco was asked this on Tuesday. ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi reported that the veteran quarterback had an unsurprising response to the question.
Newly-named QB1 Joe Flacco was asked if he expects to be the starter for the entire season. The Browns only named Flacco as the Week 1 starter.
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) August 19, 2025
“We all know how that goes.” pic.twitter.com/wCMtKrkFCd
Joe Flacco Makes 1st Remarks Since Being Named Browns QB1
In his remarks, Flacco said that he wasn't too worried about the noise surrounding the QB competition, and it is "not [his] job to look at it that way". He said that he is planning to go out there and play his game like he has been doing all training camp.
Flacco has been in the league for 17 years and has seen every possible quarterback situation. He has been on Super Bowl contenders and rebuilding teams alike. He is very well aware that once the Browns start losing and playoff hopes begin to dwindle, he will likely be cast aside for higher-upside options like Sanders and Gabriel. If Cleveland exceeds expectations and starts winning early, however, Flacco could hold onto his job against all odds.
That would be the first time Flacco would start over half of his team's games since 2018. While Browns fans remember the veteran QB's time in Cleveland fondly, it's important to remember that it was only for five games. How much one can take away from that small of a sample size from 2023 remains to be seen, but it's hard to imagine that things are going to go well enough under Flacco to justify him starting all season.
This means that the bigger question is not whether Flacco will finish the season as the starter (he won't), but who among the three-headed backup unit will head coach Kevin Stefanski turn to.