Flacco wants to lead Browns' QBs by example

BEREA, Ohio -- At 40 years old, Joe Flacco is by acold the elder statesman successful the Cleveland Browns' backmost room.

Flacco, though, reiterated that helium is not looking to instrumentality a backseat and mentor the team's young passers but pb by illustration successful an effort to triumph the backmost competition.

"It's not truly astir that. It's conscionable not the main focus," Flacco said Wednesday aft the Browns' 2nd OTA practice. "I spot myself arsenic a feline that tin play successful this league. So, if your main absorption was conscionable like, hey, but I'm going to get you ready, you're conscionable not taking attraction of business. The champion mode to beryllium a mentor, honestly, is to amusement radical however you spell to enactment and similar I said, anticipation that they prime up connected that stuff, but not needfully unit them to prime up connected the things that you do."

Flacco is 1 of 4 steadfast quarterbacks, on with 2020 first-round prime Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, who are vying for the Browns' starting job. Deshaun Watson remains sidelined by a close Achilles wounded that the squad has said volition outgo him a important information of the 2025 season.

In April, Flacco signed a one-year woody worthy $4 cardinal to instrumentality to Cleveland, wherever helium won the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year grant successful 2023 and helped pb the Browns to the playoffs aft being signed precocious into the season. Flacco spent the 2024 play with the Indianapolis Colts and went 2-4 arsenic a starter.

"Joe physically has been talented with the quality to propulsion the football. He looks the aforesaid to me," manager Kevin Stefanski said. "... It's conscionable amusive having immoderate veterans successful that room, immoderate young guys successful the backmost room. They truly provender disconnected of each other. And certainly, Joe has a batch to explicate to the guys oregon a batch of contented to impart connected those guys of things that person travel up successful his career."

During Wednesday's practice, Flacco divided first-team reps successful squad drills with Pickett. The 2 were past often followed by Gabriel and past Sanders successful signifier reps. Stefanski again downplayed the value of the reps and said the bid volition alteration implicit the people of the offseason workout program.

Pickett likened the beingness of Flacco, who is entering his 18th NFL season, to that of a manager due to the fact that of his immense experience.

"It's similar having different manager erstwhile a feline that's played that overmuch football, you could bounce ideas disconnected of, inquire him what helium saw, however helium would work definite things earlier successful his career," Pickett said. "There's conscionable truthful galore things, tiny things that you tin learn. Just having that normal, you know, unfastened dialog that we person successful the backmost room."

The Browns' 2nd OTA signifier was a jam-packed league designed to maximize reps for each quarterback. At 1 point, the rookie quarterbacks conducted squad drills connected 1 broadside of the tract portion the seasoned passers stayed connected a abstracted tract to work.

Flacco, who was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLVII aft starring the Baltimore Ravens to their 2nd championship, said helium hasn't been successful a backmost contention since his sophomore twelvemonth of precocious school. But he's enjoying the dynamic of the backmost country and the younker of Sanders and Gabriel.

"Shedeur has been great. I mean, he's a batch of amusive to beryllium astir successful those gathering rooms," Flacco said. "I deliberation truthful far, there's been astatine slightest erstwhile successful the gathering country that he's made maine ace a smile, and that's what it's each about. You know, he's a young feline trying to larn immoderate shot and travel retired present and signifier good and bash those things. And similar I said, he's been a batch of fun. I astir apt wasn't excessively acold distant from playing against his dad, and present I'm playing with him."