Joel Bitonio didn’t get to experience much team success during his 12-year career with the Cleveland Browns. That is why the magical 2023 season is so special.
It’s when Joe Flacco was signed off his couch, and the veteran helped the Browns reach the playoffs with a five-start run that will live on in franchise history. With Flacco playing at an incredibly high level after so much time off, Bitonio got to see first-hand why the QB had such a positive reputation.
Bitonio recently revealed his honest thoughts about Flacco, calling his former teammate the real deal.
“[Flacco] is just so cool and collected about everything. He’s just Joe Cool, and he plays it, but the guy is as cool as it gets. I think until someone tells him, ‘No,’ he’ll just keep playing because he loves ball, he loves being around the guys. What a guy to have in your locker room,” Bitonio said.
"[Flacco] is just so cool and collected about everything… He's just Joe cool and he plays like it but the guys as cool as it gets… I think until someone tells him no like he'll just keep playing because he loves ball"
Former Browns LG Joel Bitonio on how cool Joe Flacco is. pic.twitter.com/BOlRdVJToM
— Ryan Ripken (@ryanripkenshow) July 23, 2026
During that 2023 campaign, the Browns lost starting quarterback Deshaun Watson to a shoulder injury, and backups P.J. Walker and Dorian-Thompson Robinson were not up to the task of replacing him. Very familiar with Flacco from his long career with the Baltimore Ravens, the Browns reached out to the Super Bowl champion, who had not played at all after a three-season stint with the New York Jets.
Flacco was signed to the Browns’ practice squad in November, and the rest, as they say, is history. He started Cleveland’s Week 13 game, a loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but then engineered four straight victories against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans and Jets, which got the Browns into the AFC playoffs. He was the first player in NFL history to post at least 250 passing yards and two touchdown passes in each of his first five games with a team, and he became the first Browns QB to throw for 300 yards in four consecutive games.
He finished with 1,616 passing yards and 13 touchdowns, earning NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors. Unfortunately, the Browns were handily defeated by the Texans in their playoff game.
After one season with the Indianapolis Colts in 2024, the Browns and Flacco tried to rekindle their relationship when he re-signed with the team. It did not work out, as he was benched after four games and was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals soon after.
As Bitonio pointed out, Flacco will not follow him into retirement until he is forced to. Now 41 years old, he signed a one-year contract to serve as Joe Burrow’s backup this season.
It is good to see that Bitonio remembers that 2023 season as fondly as many Browns fans certainly do, thanks to Flacco’s remarkable performance.
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