The Cleveland Browns have had major issues at quarterback, which led them to bring in four QBs this offseason to all but officially shut the door on Deshaun Watson.
With the first eight games of the 2025 schedule likely to be difficult, all signs are pointing to the Browns waiting until at least after the Week 9 bye to start one of their two rookies, and Eric Metcalf recently made a case for one veteran to be the Week 1 starter.
“I think Joe Flacco. I think he has the familiarity with [Kevin] Stefanski and the offense. They know what they can and can’t do with him. If it doesn’t go well, I think one of the young guys starts. As of right now, I would hope, unless somebody just outshines him by a lot in preseason, Flacco starts,” Metcalf said.
It would be irresponsible to start a later-round rookie like Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, especially given the continuing difficulty of the schedule, and after the bye would be the perfect time to make a switch if things don’t go well.
Flacco reportedly has looked great in OTAs and can hopefully recapture some of the magic he found in 2023 when the Browns signed him off his couch and he threw multiple touchdowns every game down the stretch to help them to an improbable playoff berth.
The team brought in Flacco and Kenny Pickett for a reason, and it wouldn’t make much sense from a roster construction standpoint to have both on the bench behind a rookie to begin the season.
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