Browns name veteran QB Joe Flacco Week 1 starter
The Cleveland Browns have made their decision on who they want under center to start the 2025 NFL season.
According to Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, the Browns will go the veteran route by making journeyman Joe Flacco their starting quarterback for Week 1 against the division rival Cincinnati Bengals.
Joe Flacco will open the season as the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback, the team announced Monday.
Although Flacco will turn 41 in January, the Browns are likely making the right decision, considering the team’s situation at the quarterback position. Deshaun Watson is recovering from an Achilles injury, Kenny Pickett has been dealing with a hamstring injury and could get waived, while the other two quarterbacks on the squad are rookies.
The Browns entered training with a quarterback competition between four contenders: Flacco, Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders (Deshaun Watson has spent training camp on the physically unable to perform list as he rehabs an Achilles injury). However, injuries and a clear delineation of practice reps led Flacco to take an overwhelming majority of first-team reps.
The quarterback situation in Cleveland has become a hot topic of discussion following the team’s acquisition of Shedeur Sanders, which has sparked a media frenzy, particularly after he was the biggest name to fall in the 2025 NFL Draft, despite being expected to be drafted in the first couple of rounds.
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Sanders fell to the fifth round, with the Browns drafting him out of Colorado University after the team had already drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
Needless to say, the Browns will be monitored closely by the media from here on out, with everyone wondering when or if Sanders will get his shot during the regular season.
