BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Joe Flacco didn't think coming back to Cleveland was going to be a possibility at the start of free agency.
Perhaps that is why Flacco has learned during his 17 years in the NFL to not expect anything until a contact is signed.
“That’s why I kind of joked to my family a little bit, my agent was talking to me about the places I may end up, and I kind of joked about it, that whatever he’s saying right now, it’s probably going to be whatever is the opposite of that. Just because you never know,” Flacco said on Wednesday.
“I mean, you never know how the talks materialize and all those things happen. and I think I’ve learned over the last few years to not really get my hopes and going one way or the other until something actually happens because it’s kind of unpredictable in that way.”
Flacco signed his one-year contract on Tuesday as the Browns began offseason workouts. The 40-year old signal caller won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in 2023 after going 4-1 as a starter with the Browns and averaging more than 300 passing yards per game as Cleveland made the playoffs for only the third time since its return in 1999.
The late-season heroics by Flacco endeared him to Browns fans after being despised for many seasons as the quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens.
Flacco was the 18th overall selection by Baltimore in 2008 and played 11 seasons for the Ravens, including leading them to a Super Bowl title during the 2012 season. Since then, he spent a year in Denver, three with the New York Jets, one in Cleveland and one in Indianapolis.
“It’s definitely a little, you wouldn’t anticipate it,” Flacco said about his level of surprise about being a cult hero among Browns fans. “I think it just says a little bit about this town and their hunger for some winning football and what it can be like when you get to that point.”
Both parties did not do well in their season apart last year.
Flacco played eight games for the Colts and went 2-4 as a starter. The Browns went 3-14 as Deshaun Watson struggled and then suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in the seventh game against Cincinnati.
Watson could potentially miss the entire 2025 season as he ruptured his Achilles tendon a second time in January. That means Flacco and Kenny Pickett along with at least one other possible addition will vie for the starting spot. Pickett, a former Steelers first-round pick, was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia.
Cleveland is expected to add another quarterback during this week's NFL draft. It has the second overall pick on Thursday as well as the first pick in Friday's second round.
Flacco said the only guarantee he got from coach Kevin Stefanski was that there would be a full-fledged quarterback competition during training camp.
“I don’t really have any expectations besides to go out there, be myself and kind of put my head down, work hard and kind of just do things the way I know how to,” Flacco said. “And the exciting part about it this time around is that I get to be a part of the team from the get-go and kind of make those relationships even better than they are. And I think there’s a lot of fun in that.”
Even though Stefanski has had 11 quarterbacks start at least one game during his first five seasons in Cleveland, this will be the first time the starting spot isn't settled going into the season.
“Whoever is in the room is going to be competing for the job,” Stefanski said. “I think it’s a really good thing, especially when you like the guys who are competing for the job that we do. I think it only elevates everybody.”
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FILE - Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco throws in the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, on Dec. 10, 2023, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
FILE - Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) exits the field at the end of the first half against the Houston Texans during an NFL wild-card playoff football game, on Jan 13, 2024 in Houston. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker, File)
