Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (15) leaves the field Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-23 in overtime at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

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Browns Take the Tried and Tested Route Under Center With Another 1-Year Deal for Joe Flacco

Joe Flacco makes a return to Cleveland!

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (15) leaves the field Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-23 in overtime at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

With less than two weeks to go for the NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns have decided to go with what worked for them a couple of seasons ago. Looking for solutions under center, the Browns have spent the majority of the offseason overlooking the free-agent options that were available. In the end, the Browns signed veteran 40-year-old Joe Flacco to a one-year deal worth $4 million that could go all the way up to $13 million with incentives.

With the NFL Draft now less than two weeks away, here are the quarterbacks now on Cleveland’s roster:

🏈Joe Flacco
🏈Kenny Pickett
🏈Deshaun Watson https://t.co/FsI1qMvVY4 pic.twitter.com/xgq58DNj7u
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 11, 2025

The Browns have been in quarterback turmoil for a long time. In 2022, after signing Deshaun Watson to a huge fully guaranteed five-year deal, Cleveland thought they had secured their future franchise quarterback. However, injuries have cost him and the team dear. Nevertheless, as Watson is likely done for the year, the Browns needed to make a decision since the next best option is Kenny Pickett and he hasn’t proved himself as a starting QB at this level.

And so a 40-plus-year-old QB has wound up in the AFC North: Joe Flacco has gone to Cleveland.

Now the wait to see whether Aaron Rodgers signs off on the Steelers resumes. pic.twitter.com/hUJl7M1sdf
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 11, 2025

With that being said, the next question that Browns fans must be asking themselves is how much of an impact has this Flacco signing actually made on their team?

What Does Joe Flacco Bring to the Team?

Well, looking at it objectively, the Browns bringing back Flacco alone is not going to lift the team to greater heights. Yes, back in the 2023 season he played well enough to lead the Browns into the playoffs just as Watson went down with a season-ending injury. However, that 5-game sample size is not enough to feel super confident about their chances this season.

Also Read: ‘He Is My Number One, He Won Against the G.O.A.T’- Brandon Graham Praises QB Jalen Hurts for Super Bowl Triumph Over the Chiefs

Last season, Flacco started 6 games for the Colts, but his production was slightly less and Indianapolis went 2-4 in those games. If, however, the 17-year veteran can manage to strike good chemistry with Jerry Jeudy and the other receivers, he might just give them a fighting chance to make a push for the postseason.

In 2023 the Browns had a generally well-balanced defense. Last season, Cleveland did well to a certain extent with their ability to generate pressure and not give away too many big plays, however, the defense still fell short of what they did in 2023. Should a newly rejuvenated Myles Garrett with his mega-deal get back to his best, Cleveland could surprise quite a few teams this season.

How Does Flacco’s Signing Affect the Browns Draft Strategy?

The next big question now is how this will affect the draft strategy of the Browns. Up until now, it looked like drafting a QB in the draft was of utmost importance for the Ohio-based franchise. However, does the signing of Joe Flacco signal a different intent?

Perhaps the Browns are not completely sold on Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders and so Flacco is their bridge signal caller till next season, and they could end up drafting Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter with their number two overall pick. Or maybe they still intend on drafting a QB and have signed Flacco to oversee the development of the rookie as he sits on the bench for a year and learns from a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

Cleveland Browns

Joe Flacco

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!