Joe Flacco is back for his second stint with the Cleveland Browns.
Heading into the 2025 season, the veteran NFL signal caller is the experienced head in a quarterback room that also includes Kenny Pickett and two rookies in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
But just because Flacco’s a Super Bowl champion with nearly two decades of pro football experience behind him, don’t expect him to take on the role of ‘mentor’ with those younger guys just yet.
He’s ready to put in the work and cement himself at the top of Cleveland’s depth chart.
While draft picks Gabriel and Sanders represent the future, and Pickett is also highly regarded by one Hall of Fame quarterback, Flacco is the presumed Week 1 starter.
And if he has to stand in the way of some promising young prospects, so be it.
On Wednesday, Flacco spoke to reporters at Browns OTAs, and was asked about the idea of being a mentor to the guys behind him.
He made it clear he doesn’t want that label in 2025.
In fact, he accused the journalists of trying to trip him up with questions about his role in Cleveland’s QB room.
“It’s a good question to bait somebody into answering and no matter how they answer it, it kind of makes the guy that’s answering it look bad,” Flacco began.
“If I say, ‘I don’t want to be a mentor,’ I look bad. If I say, ‘I do want to be a mentor,’ then I look like an idiot that doesn’t care about being good and playing football.
“So it’s one of those questions that no matter what I say, you guys can write what you want to write about it. And there’s a lot of questions like that. That’s why you end up having to try to avoid them.
Flacco has made it clear he wants to be the Browns starter in 2025X: @BROWNS High-profile draft pick Sanders will be challenging for that starting spotGetty“I tend to try to be honest, and I’ve said, ‘I’m not a mentor. I play football.’ In a quarterback room, there’s a lot of times — there’s been already a ton of times — where there’s learning experiences.
“I have a lot of experience, and I can talk on things, and hopefully they listen.
“But it’s not necessarily my job to make sure they listen to me.
“Hopefully you have a really good relationship with the guys that are in the room, and you naturally want to do that.”
Flacco then snapped back at a reporter, who as a follow up asked if he thinks that his view is more predominant around the league than some might think, because he’s actually willing to talk about it.
He replied: “Because of what I just said, you’re acting like I don’t want to be a mentor. Once again, it’s not really about that. It’s just not the main focus.
Flacco took issue with suggestion he will just be a ‘mentor’ in 2025Cleveland Browns Sanders, who had a shocking draft slide, is already impressing in Browns OTAsGetty“I see myself as a guy that can play in this league… the best way to be a mentor is to show people how you go to work.”
While Flacco has made clear his intention to be playing week in, week out, it seems he will have serious competition for that role.
Stats from Wednesday’s OTA session, posted by ESPN Cleveland, suggest that both rookies are finding their groove.
Oregon prospect Gabriel went 11-of-16 on his throws, with two touchdowns and one interception during team drills.
Flacco meanwhile was 9-of-14, with one touchdown, and Pickett went 9-of-16, with no touchdowns.
Sanders, though, impressed the most. He went 7-of-9, throwing three touchdowns, having recently been compared to seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom brady, responding in the best way possible to doubters.
If the former Colorado star, who suffered an all-time draft slide, continues to outperform his teammates, he will surely give the Browns a decision to make when it comes to his position on the depth chart.
And while Flacco wants to be the starter in Cleveland this year, it’s clear he will have a fight on his hands for that spot.
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