Joe Flacco reveals harsh truth about winning Browns' QB competition

The Cleveland Browns confirmed expected news when they revealed on Monday that veteran Joe Flacco will serve as their starting quarterback for their regular-season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. 

On Tuesday, Flacco acknowledged a harsh truth about his situation after he was asked if he expects to be Cleveland's QB1 through the entire 2025 campaign. 

"We all know how that works," Flacco responded, as shared by Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. "...It's not really my job to look at it that way. It's to go out there and play my game, kind of like I've been doing all training camp. Not worrying about all that stuff, just going out there and playing my game and being the best I can."

The competition for the Cleveland starting job involving Flacco, offseason acquisition Kenny Pickett, 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel and 2025 fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders reportedly "wasn’t close" leading up to Monday. Outsiders may never know if certain individuals within the Browns truly wanted Pickett to win the gig, as he suffered a hamstring injury on July 26 that kept him out of Cleveland's first two preseason games. 

Flacco turns 41 years old in January 2026, while Pickett turned 27 in June. 

Browns general manager Andrew Berry seemingly wants to carry four quarterbacks on the active roster through at least a portion of the season. On Tuesday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk mentioned that Berry could stash a signal-caller on injured reserve to "delay the decision on whether to carry four quarterbacks." 

Sanders didn't play in the Browns' 22-13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles this past Saturday due to an oblique injury. 

Meanwhile, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer noted earlier in August that the Browns’ first six games of the upcoming campaign are against teams that accumulated a combined 71-41 record last season. Thus, the Browns could give Pickett a look for their Week 7 contest against the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 19 if Cleveland has a losing record at that time. 

Depending on all that happens, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski could also use the team's Week 9 bye to get Pickett, Gabriel or Sanders ready to start Cleveland's Week 10 game at the New York Jets on Nov. 9. For now, Flacco will look to silence such chatter by playing well against the Bengals on the first Sunday of September.