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The Cleveland Browns named Joe Flacco its starting quarterback for Week 1 despite receiving some stiff competition from rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
Flacco is the Super Bowl champion veteran quarterback who has experience in head coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense already. He was the favorite to get the starting job and Sanders, Gabriel and Kenny Pickett would have had to play astronomically well in preseason and training camp to sniff the opportunity to start.
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) during training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. (Ken Blaze/Imagn Images)
“The last couple of weeks, honestly, it’s been pretty good for me,” Flacco said last week, via the team’s website. “I’ve gotten to get more reps and get comfortable and feel like I’m doing things at a pretty high level.”
Sanders challenged for the QB1 role in his first preseason game. He had two touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers but an oblique injury caused him to miss the second preseason game of the year against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Gabriel received the nod in that game. He was 13-of-18 with 143 passing yards and an interception.
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Cleveland Browns quarterbacks Joe Flacco (15) and Dillon Gabriel (5) chat during training camp July 23, 2025, in Berea. (Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Flacco didn’t play in either preseason game and likely didn’t need to.
He’s entering his 18th season in the NFL. He played for the Indianapolis Colts last season and was used after Anthony Richardson went down with an injury. He was 2-4 in six starts.
Flacco had 1,761 passing yards and 12 touchdown passes.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) and quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) look downfield during NFL training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. (Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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Cleveland was 3-14 last season. They start the year against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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