Browns' Joe Flacco Reveals Major Source for New Motivation

Flacco is the elder statesman of a quirky Browns quarterback room that also features former first-round pick Kenny Pickett and those two rookies in third-rounder Dillon Gabriel and fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski has promised that the entire group will compete for the starting role. Flacco figures to have a bit of a leg up given his familiarity with the offense, combined with 17 years of quarterbacking experience in the NFL.

He knew what he was getting into when he signed with the Browns in early April. The wisdom of Flacco allows him to keep a level head about the situation. As a competitor, though, seeing the Browns draft two quarterbacks did seem to be providing Flacco with an extra source of motivation.

"I think there's no shying away that there's something that gets ignited in you a little bit," Flacco said. "There's a reason I still want to play this game."

It was a candid admission for the Super Bowl champion. One that plenty of people can relate to, feeling like there's somethin to prove with added competition. He's been in the league long enough, though, not to let it affect him on a day-to-day basis.

While the quartet of signal callers are competitors on the field, they're also teammates. That's not lost on Flacco either.

"At the end of the day, I really don't focus on those things," said Flacco. "I focus on coming out here, doing my work, having a lot of fun and all those other things fall into place. Having good relationships with guys, and that's the quarterbacks included. It's not just the receivers and the O-line and the running backs.

"It's having good relationships in that quarterback room. You spend a lot of time with those guys. They all seem to be great guys, and guys that want to play well and get better. And so I think it's going to be a lot of fun."