Browns, quarterback Joe Flacco reunite with one-year contract
The Browns are having a reunion with the quarterback who provided some of the highest highs the organization has had since it returned to the league.
Quarterback Joe Flacco is coming back to Cleveland on a one-year deal. The team made the announcement official about a half-hour after the news initially broke.
The deal is worth $4 million. However, there are $13 million in incentives.
Flacco becomes the second healthy quarterback on the Browns roster, joining Kenny Pickett, who was acquired in a March trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. Deshaun Watson continues to rehab from a second surgery after re-tearing the same Achilles he tore last season.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam indicated to a small group of beat writers at the NFL owners meetings last week that Flacco was among the options they were looking for in the veteran market, although general manager Andrew Berry was a little more vague at the time. They're also expected to draft a quarterback at some point in the three-day event later this month.
"I wouldn't go into any, like I said, any specific free agent player in terms of maybe our thinking in regards to the relative strengths or weaknesses, whether that's on-field, off-field costs, things like that," Berry told the same group of writers last week. "We do have a pretty specific focus with our quarterback room both in the short term and long term and we'll fill it with players that we feel like fill that. And I'm sorry that that may sound a little bit vague, but I really wouldn't go into the details necessarily."
The question is if the Browns can recapture the magic they had over Flacco's month-plus as the starter in 2023, which led to him being voted as the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. The 40-year-old spent last season with the Indianapolis Colts, where he was 2-4 as a starter in place of Anthony Richardson with a 65.3% completion rate for 1,761 yards with 12 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 90.5 passer rating.
Flacco signed with Indianapolis after the Browns reached an agreement with Jameis WInston to be Watson's backup for last season. However, Flacco made it known he was more than open to returning to Cleveland leading into that free-agency period.
“I can tell you that, all things equal, Cleveland is definitely the place where I’d feel best about,” Flacco said at the time on SiriusXM NFL Radio . “Now, then you have to get into the world of, is someone actually going to give me a chance to play? And all the different things that go into that.
"But I can’t help but have a special feeling about Cleveland, just because of the few weeks that I spent there and how great the city was. And, listen, at the end of the day, I don’t necessarily want that to be a huge part (or) all of the decision. But I do think it will factor into the decision, if I end up having a decision to make."
Flacco's story in Cleveland has been well-told by this point. He did not sign with an NFL team during the 2023 offseason and did not get a workout until the Browns brought him in for one on Nov. 10 after Watson's season-ending shoulder injury. The former Super Bowl Most Valuable Player was originally signed to the practice squad on Nov. 20.
The 17-year pro took over the starting quarterback job in Week 13 against the Los Angeles Rams after Dorian Thompson-Robinson sustained a concussion the previous week. Flacco, after losing his Browns debut, won his next four starts, throwing for more than 300 yards in each to help Cleveland secure just its third playoff berth since 1999.
"I view myself as a guy that can play," Flacco said in January, 2023. "So it’s tough to admit, ‘Hey, I’m going to have to sign as a backup.’ But I got over that because I want to play. And I do feel like when I get somewhere people will see that I can play. And even when I do that, I still have to put aside those feelings for the betterment of the team because I’m not the guy playing if I’m not the guy playing."
Flacco, who completed 60.3% of his passes for 1,616 yards with 13 TDs and eight interceptions in the regular season, struggled in the AFC wild card loss at the Houston Texans. Although he passed for 307 yards and a touchdown, he also threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns.
"I think I was so fortunate to become a part of this team," Flacco said after the playoff loss. "It's a special group, and I know a lot of people can say that, but it really is. So to be given a chance to do this with those guys, I'm super grateful for it."
Flacco played in five games, including four starts, with the Jets in 2022, the last of his three seasons in New York. He spent the 2019 season with the Broncos, who acquired him from the Ravens at the end of training camp.
Flacco spent the first 11 years of his career in Baltimore, where he was the Ravens' first-round pick out of the University of Delaware in 2008. He won two AFC North championships and played in three AFC Championship games in six playoff appearances with the Ravens.
Flacco is 105-86 as a starter, including 18-3 against the Browns. He's thrown for 45,697 yards with 257 TDs and 162 picks in 196 career games.
(This story has been updated with new information.)
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ