The Cleveland Browns have plenty of options to choose from to start at quarterback.
There are plenty of reasons to make a case for and against all of them.
However, even though he doesn’t offer any sort of long-term upside, Joe Flacco is clearly the most ready option.
The team already knows what he can bring to the table, and there will not be any surprises there, for better or worse.
That’s why Dan Labbe of Cleveland.com believes the Browns should just roll with him to start the season:
“I know exactly what Joe Flacco is going to be week one, the good and the bad. I know he’s going to be able to run my offense. I know he’s going to be able to get the ball downfield to Jerry Jeudy. I also know there’s a chance he might throw two or three interceptions in that game, which maybe that’s the thing that would give Kevin Stefanski pause after what happened last year,” Labbe argued.
Flacco is a big play waiting to happen.
Whether that play will be for the Browns or the opposition remains to be seen.
He’s never been great at taking care of the football, but being a risk-taker also comes with some upside.
The Browns are entering this season overlooked and with few chances of making the playoffs, according to oddsmakers and most analysts, and Flacco is most likely their biggest chance to prove them wrong.
Nevertheless, it’s also worth noting that starting Flacco would most likely be wasting two draft picks.
The Browns would still have to go after a franchise quarterback in next year’s draft, leaving Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders as either trade pieces or nothing more than backups.
The team needs to do what’s best for them in the long run, not just for this season.
Unfortunately, that’s not usually how desperate teams operate, and the Browns might be a little desperate to compete after their three-win season in 2024.
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