The Cleveland Browns had a four-man quarterback battle this summer that ended with Joe Flacco winning the starting role, while Kenny Pickett was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are now the second and third-string options behind Flacco.
There are a lot of expectations on the 40-year-old Flacco, who led the Browns on an improbable playoff run in 2023 after getting hot down the stretch, and team legend Josh Cribbs recently revealed what he believes is the key to Flacco recapturing some of that magic.
During a recent episode of The Top Dawgs Show, Cribbs said it all comes back to the running game, and if Cleveland can provide a consistent running game this year, we could see a full 17-game slate out of Flacco.
“If Flacco doesn’t have to do it all, if he doesn’t have to drop back every play and throw the ball, I think that will tell how long he can make it this season. If our running game is on fire, I think he’s going to last. He may last,” Cribbs said.
If the #Browns can have a consistent running game this year, Joe Flacco is primed to play all 17 games. #DawgPound
"If our running game is on fire I think he will last."
Presented by @nefdirect https://t.co/sdZK7CL3S6 pic.twitter.com/pSkOEUuBHC
— The Top Dawgs Show (@TopDawgShow) August 30, 2025
Expecting 17 starts from a nearly 41-year-old Flacco sounds unreasonable, especially when you take into account that he hasn’t started a full season’s worth of games since 2017, and he’ll be playing behind an offensive line that surrendered 66 sacks last year.
The first six games of Cleveland’s season are also brutal, and in terms of the big picture, the Browns need to figure out if either Gabriel or Sanders can be the next franchise quarterback for this team, so it would be ideal if one or both of them could get at least a few starts at some point.
It may sound pessimistic, but it’s also a realistic outlook.
That being said, Cribbs is right about the running game.
All the moves Cleveland made this offseason point to the team prioritizing the running game more, which is important because the Browns didn’t produce a single 100-yard rusher in any game last year.
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