Browns' Joe Flacco displays leadership after losing starting job to rookie QB

As had been expected, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed on Wednesday that he was benching quarterback Joe Flacco and starting rookie Dillon Gabriel for this coming Sunday's game between the 1-3 Browns and 2-2 Minnesota Vikings. 

Later in the day, Flacco indicated he's embracing his role as Gabriel's primary backup. 

Joe Flacco sounds ready to help Dillon Gabriel serve as starter

"I think the best way to help him is continue to come to work with a good mindset every day and provide that positive energy and see what he needs on his end," per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "Listen, he’s into it, man. He’s ready to go. I’m sure he’s super excited about this opportunity. You can tell he takes it seriously just by the way he studies and his intent in the meeting rooms and on the practice field."

Flacco raised eyebrows in the spring when he suggested he was more concerned with being Cleveland's starter than with mentoring younger players such as Gabriel and 2025 fifth-round draft choice Shedeur Sanders. More recently, Flacco was unable to reclaim the magic he enjoyed when he won four of five starts to guide the 2023 Browns to a playoff berth. 

Over Cleveland's four September games, Flacco tallied a league-high eight turnovers. As Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer noted, Stefanski acknowledged on Wednesday that turnovers were "a factor" in making the change from Flacco to Gabriel.

Did Joe Flacco know he'd be benched this week?

"I don’t think I foresaw it," Flacco said. "Listen, I think I said it on Sunday. Anytime you’re in this league, everybody’s always getting evaluated. The job of the quarterback is to help your team win football games. So, I don’t know if I foresaw it coming. But listen, me and Kevin can have a good conversation. It’s not like anything that was super long or drawn out like that. But, got to the point, had a good conversation about it, and it is what it is."

Flacco added that he is "relying on the people around" him to help him "cope" with the disappointment of being benched. The 40-year-old will need to stay ready, as he could be one play away from taking snaps at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this coming Sunday.