The biggest question of the Browns’ offseason was answered this week with 40-year-old Joe Flacco named the starting quarterback.
Why it matters: Cleveland has the second-oldest starting quarterback in the NFL. Now the question is how things will play out at the position over the entire season.
Driving the news: Flacco will start the Browns’ final preseason game Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams at Huntington Bank Field.
Catch up quick: Cleveland entered training camp with a quarterback battle between Flacco, newly acquired Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
- Deshaun Watson, whom Cleveland traded the farm for and signed to a record-breaking contract, could miss the entire season as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon.
State of play: Sanders played well in the Browns’ preseason opener with 138 yards and two touchdowns, while Pickett and Gabriel were sidelined with injuries.
- Sanders sat out the second preseason game with an oblique strain. Gabriel started and threw for 143 yards and an interception.
- Flacco, a former Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens who led the Browns to the playoffs two seasons ago, has gotten most of the first-team reps in practice.
What they’re saying: Flacco was always the presumed starter, but fans are already wondering about the future on the team’s Facebook page.
- One of the rookies is going to take over by Week 5, Randy Walker commented. “I’m calling it now. Their record will be 1-3 and they will take a shot on a rookie!”
- Jesse Paulton Jr. predicts, “[Flacco will] be the starter until the bye week when one of the rookies separates themselves from the other.”
What’s next: The Browns have five healthy quarterbacks on their roster, including Tyler Huntley signed this preseason. They will likely cut at least one.
- Cleveland starts the regular season at home against the Cincinnati Bengals, before a brutal stretch against five teams that made the playoffs last season.
