Veteran Joe Flacco obtained criticism from members of the NFL community after he suggested this previous spring he was extra involved with successful the Cleveland Browns’ beginning quarterback job than with mentoring 2022 first-round draft decide Kenny Pickett, 2025 third-round choice Dillon Gabriel and 2025 fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders.
Throughout a latest chat with Michael Silver of The Athletic, Flacco insisted he is not going out of his technique to make Cleveland’s youthful signal-callers really feel unwelcome this summer season.
“Hear, I might be an (expletive), however not essentially in that manner,” Flacco defined. “I really feel like I attempt to be particular person, so all I can do is do my job to one of the best of my potential. If meaning I’m not the man, properly, yeah, I’d really feel a sure manner about it, however I’m not gonna be bitter about it in direction of different folks that didn’t do something to me. That quarterback room is a sacred room. I feel you’ve received to deal with individuals proper in that room and assist them — something to assist the group.”
It most likely would not damage that head coach Kevin Stefanski has made it clear that he has Flacco penciled in atop the depth chart. The Browns confirmed on Monday that Flacco is their unofficial QB1 heading into their preseason opener on the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8.
As of Tuesday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook
had Flacco because the betting favourite at -265 odds to begin Cleveland’s Week 1 sport towards the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. That stated, Flacco is a 40-year-old who might discover himself that includes for one of many league’s worst groups this fall if projections shared by DraftKings Sportsbook be show to be correct.
Simply final week, Browns proprietor Jimmy Haslam indicated he needs to see each Gabriel and Sanders take regular-season snaps later this yr. For now, Flacco sounds assured that he offers Cleveland one of the best likelihood to earn a win over Cincinnati on the primary Sunday of September.
“I imply, I feel all people’s most likely a little bit bit unrealistic after they’re self-evaluating,” Flacco added, “however I’m trustworthy with myself. Perhaps I’m not my 29-year-old self, however I really feel actually good. I really feel that I can nonetheless transfer, and my arm is all of what it’s ever been.”
Flacco turned a Cleveland sports activities hero when he received four of five regular-season begins to information the 2023 Browns to a playoff berth. If he can recapture a few of that magic, he might maintain the opposite lively quarterbacks on the Cleveland roster sidelined by means of at the least a portion of November.
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