Outlook on Joe Flacco signing

By: Jake Rajala

Joe Flacco is heading back to the Cleveland Browns and the AFC North. The 40 year old refuses to lay down. Flacco unleashed an 4-1 record in 2023, while throwing 13 touchdowns to eight interceptions with the Cleveland Browns. He wasn’t quite as successful last season with the Indianapolis Colts, as he registered an 2-4 record. Flacco will hope there’s some Browns magic this turnaround. With that said, a fascinating question arrives: what is the grade of the Flacco signing?

Well, I would give it a C+

The Browns are arguably pulling the plug on the Deshaun Watson experiment. Hence, I’d like to see the Browns be more aggressive to acquire a long-term Pro Bowl-caliber QB. Sam Darnold and Geno Smith would be more fine options for CLE in my opinion.

If we’re absolutely looking at veteran QBs, I would also prefer to see Aaron Rodgers signing with CLE over Flacco.

I would still like to see the Browns trade back into the first round to acquire Jaxson Dart. I believe it would be a bit of a reach for the Browns to draft Shedeur Sanders second overall. Plus, Travis Hunter is arguably the best player in the entire draft, so it’s understandable for him to land second overall.

I still like the Browns chances of having a winning record next season. They went 11-6 with Flacco playing five games in 2023! I wish they had Nick Chubb, but they still have Jerry Jeudy and David Njoku. Their OL has been a bottom-10 unit in sacks allowed over the past two seasons, so it’s wise to have a veteran QB who won’t panic too much when the OL breaks down.

The Browns have a defense that can make life miserable for Lamar Jackson and Mason Rudolph. After all, they split games with each squad. Their defense doesn’t require an elite QB to keep them in the game, contrary to Joe Burrow and the Bengals.