Joe Flacco trade proves current Browns regime cannot be trusted to solve QB conundrum

The Browns entered training camp with four quarterbacks all allegedly competing for the starting job: Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. That was before Tyler Huntley showed up in the preseason. Oh, and don't forget about Deshaun Watson as well. If you have four quarterbacks competing for a job, or six, you arguably don't even have one.

Anyway, the competition realistically seemed to be between Flacco and Pickett, with the loser expected to be shipped out. However, the plans were disrupted when Pickett suffered a hamstring injury in camp, keeping him off the field the entire preseason. This basically gave Flacco the job by default, as neither rookie signal-caller was drafted high enough to warrant a Week 1 start. Pickett was traded away and fans were "Wacko for Flacco" once again.

This raised questions of why the Browns felt Flacco was good enough to start this season, but not be around in 2024. Of course, Watson's status threw a wrench into that concept, but the question was still worth noting.

That brings us to today, October 7. The Browns are entering Week 6 with a 1-4 record, Gabriel is the starting quarterback, and Flacco is likely set to start for the rival Cincinnati Bengals. Pickett is in Las Vegas, Watson is ramping up for a potential return, and Sanders is now the backup.

If the rapid change in plans seems overwhelming, that's because it is. The Browns seem to be in a perpetual rebuild over the past decade, with the only bright spot at quarterback being sent out of town due to immaturity on both ends of the equation.

The team went all-in on Watson, who turned out to be an abject disaster. That alone is concerning when it comes to evaluating this regime. Yet instead of starting fresh in 2025, Flacco opened Week 1 as the starter and looked like he was moving in slow motion. How is that a viable plan for a winning football team? Or let alone a competent one? Was the goal to tank? All these questions began swirling before fans could even settle in to the 2025 season.

The miserable play of the offense is wasting an elite defense and putting the unit in situations where allowing more than 17 points is going to result in an automatic loss. All because the most important position in the game cannot be figured out.

The team can argue that they will draft a top rookie quarterback in 2026. But why has it taken this long? At some point, ownership needs to face reality.

Gabriel could end up being the franchise guy. The same is technically true for Sanders. But do fans have faith in quarterbacks who were taken in the third and fifth-round, respectively? And can they achieve their full potential in this organization?

The Browns entered the year with a shaky plan and it backfired before we could reach the month of October. It does seem that Jimmy Haslam will give Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry at least one more shot to fix things in 2026 with two first-round picks, even if the Jacksonville pick is going to be at the end of the first round.

The only way Haslam may pull the plug early is if Flacco goes to Cincinnati and gets the team to the playoffs. If he looks better there, how can ownership trust that the right people are in place to find success in Cleveland? He can't fire himself, so making a leadership change would be the next logical move.

Both Berry and Stefanski have failed to solve the problem at the most important position in sports. If another 3-win season is upon us, they may have one final shot to make it right. That is, if Haslam decides to ignore the urge to start over before then.