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Coach's job status could inspire quick QB change in Cleveland
Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco. Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Kevin Stefanski's job status could inspire quick QB change in Cleveland

Kevin Stefanski has decided that Joe Flacco gives the Cleveland Browns their best chance of winning in 2025, and it is fair to wonder how much leeway the veteran quarterback will be given to prove his coach right.

The Browns on Monday officially named Flacco their starting quarterback for Week 1, which was the expected outcome all offseason. Stefanski has decided to go with the 40-year-old veteran over Kenny Pickett and rookie QBs Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.

Flacco is familiar with Stefanski's offense, as the Super Bowl MVP had a previous stint with the Browns in 2023. Cleveland signed Flacco after Deshaun Watson went down with a season-ending injury, and Flacco wound up starting five games. The Browns went 4-1 in those games to close out the season and made the playoffs, where the lost to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round.

That was the second time Stefanski led Cleveland to the playoffs in five seasons. Last year was the coach's worst season with the Browns, as they took a massive step back and went 3-14.

There is an overwhelming belief that Stefanski will lose his job in 2025 if the Browns do not improve significantly. What that likely means is that if things were to go poorly early in the year, Stefanski would feel pressure to make a QB switch and give one of his younger signal-callers an opportunity, perhaps in a last-ditch effort to save his job.

Flacco played in eight games with the Indianapolis Colts last season, and his performance was inconsistent at best. He finished the year with 1,761 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. The Colts went 2-4 in Flacco's six starts.

The Browns are expected to make an unusual move by keeping four quarterbacks on their roster entering the regular season. What that will do is give Stefanski flexibility. Sanders already dazzled in his preseason debut, though he sat out the exhibition preseason game and has battled injuries throughout training camp. Gabriel, who has also been banged up, has not played as well.

Sanders may have been a fifth-round pick, but he is arguably the most high-profile rookie in the NFL. Browns fans will likely begin chanting his name fairly early in the season should Flacco struggle.

Stefanski has named Flacco his Week 1 starter, but it would not be surprising if the Browns evaluated the position on a week-to-week basis. The 43-year-old coach could find himself in desperation mode fairly early in the year, and QB changes tend to happen under those types of circumstances.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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