This time a year ago, the Cleveland Browns were riding high and well on their way to an unlikely playoff berth. Joe Flacco came off the couch to play savior in Cleveland for a team needing substantially better quarterback play than what they received from Deshaun Watson, P.J. Walker, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
While Flacco provided what he was tasked with and carried the Browns to the postseason, the lasting effects of his contributions last year have doomed the franchise for the foreseeable future.
Prior to Flacco coming in to save the day, Cleveland was experiencing bad quarterback play from Watson, Walker, and Thompson-Robinson.
Do not let the 7-4 record before Flacco's first start fool you, the offense was terrible and was being carried by overperforming defense and special teams units. This team was set up to fade down the stretch and it was Flacco 's play that prevented that from happening.
Why was Joe Flacco's tenure with Cleveland the downfall of the organization's growth?
Here's the reality that some need to hear. Without Flacco's contributions, the chances of changes being made after 2023 across the board were very real. The offense yet again failed to meet expectations despite Watson having a full "normal offseason" to prepare.
After Watson went down with a season-ending injury, the alternatives (Walker and DTR) were somehow worse, which really did not seem possible. It was only when Flacco came in that the offense lived up to the lofty expectations thrust upon it before the season began were finally met.
Read more: What to expect from another Dorian Thompson-Robinson start in Week 17
There's just one problem. Flacco's success resulted in the coaching staff and front office, not to mention whatever fraudulent title Paul DePodesta has, being given undeserved credit. The impact of Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry on the Browns making the playoffs last year has been overstated, as this team falls flat and fails to qualify if Flacco is not brought in.
The fact they actually signed Flacco rather than keep trying to make Walker and Thompson-Robinson work was quite surprising, considering how frequently they do everything they can to prove to everyone else how smart they are and that they can do no wrong. The fact of the matter is that those in charge in Berea lucked out, and the result is sentencing the Browns to a mediocre-at-best future.
Stefanski and Berry were signed to premature contract extensions this past offseason, even though there were plenty of red flags indicating this was a bad idea. The offense became stagnant no matter who was the quarterback, and it took an outsider in Flacco to change that.
Additionally, the longer this regime has been able to mold this team to fit their vision, the worse off they are. The Browns would have been much better off in the long term if they did not sign Flacco in the first place or if he flopped. This could have led to a much-needed regime change and roster re-tooling to get away from whatever Stefanski/Berry/DePodesta are trying to do.
There is one thing that NFL owners hate doing, and that is paying people who are no longer part of the organization. This has become somewhat commonplace during Jimmy Haslam's ownership of the Browns, and you better believe he does not want to go down that road again.
It would be much easier to part ways with this group and their inability to construct a team properly, but those fresh contract extensions will make it more difficult for Haslam to justify their firings from a financial standpoint.
Up until recently, the missteps and relative uncompetitiveness of the franchise have not been a public issue among the players on the roster, but not anymore. Both Myles Garrett and Joel Bitonio have publicly stated their opposition to a team rebuild, with Garrett floating out the possibility of requesting a trade and Bitonio considering retirement if one were to take place.
For those who still think everything is fine and the Browns should run it back again next year, this should serve as a wake-up call that this team is on the brink of total implosion. Losing just one of Garrett or Bitionio would be catastrophic.
If both were to leave, this team would have no immediate future as they would be losing their best player on each side of the line of scrimmage. Should either take place, the immediate dismissal of the coaching staff and front office would need to happen to hold them accountable for their collective failures.
Of course, all of this would be a lot easier if what took place last season with Flacco did not happen or was not used as a reason to sign Stefanski and Berry to extensions they have not truly earned.
Unfortunately, that is what took place, and if anyone is looking for the root cause of why this team's future is completely doomed, it would be the performance of Joe Flacco down the stretch last year. That is the hinge point in the timeline that has set this team completely off course and has ruined any chance of them being competitive in the near or foreseeable future.