There are essentially no bad ideas when it comes to the Cleveland Browns attempting to solve their quarterback void.
With Deshaun Watson expected to be sidelined for the entirety of the 2025 season with a ruptured Achilles, Browns GM Andrew Berry has made it clear that the QB room will look much different in 2025.
That could mean signing a veteran signal caller, drafting a rookie, or – more likely – both. As far as the veteran options go, though, NFL insider Adam Schefter believes he has a perfect solution to the Browns quarterback problem.
“How bout Joe Flacco, who has already led the Browns to playoffs two years ago, and there were people in the organization who wanted to keep him,” the ESPN reporter said on his own podcast. “He wanted to play. They let him go cause there was some division there.
“But Joe Flacco back to Cleveland could be the perfect bridge quarterback for when Cleveland drafts a quarterback, I expect to be high.”
Much was made of Flacco’s departure last season after leading the Browns to the postseason in 2023. Not retaining the Super Bowl-winning QB was all about keeping Watson happy.
Flacco had gained such stardom with the fan base and resounding support from the locker room that team brass worried it could create some unnecessary pressure on Watson. And so, the 40-year-old wound up landing with the Indianapolis Colts in 2024.
In the end, Cleveland putting all its eggs in the Watson basket backfired royally, so much so that it’s likely he’s played his last snap for the Browns ever.
As Berry rethinks the QB room, perhaps an old friend emerges in Flacco, as a legitimate option to pair with a rookie, just as Schefter suggests.