The Browns might have the most intriguing quarterback room in the league after trading for Kenny Pickett and bringing Joe Flacco back while still drafting Dillon Gabriel and eventually Shedeur Sanders. Many believe Flacco and Pickett will get the first crack at starting in Week 1, with Flacco as the assumed starter because of his brief history with the team.
Coming off a 2025 season where the Browns didn't have any quarterbacks in the top 32 in EPA (estimated points added) per drop back, they didn't use any premium assets to acquire a signal caller. Thus, they are not expected to win games on the back of their quarterback this season.
NFL analyst believes Joe Flacco would be a bottom-five starting quarterback
PFF's John Kosko ranked every quarterback in the NFL heading into OTAs before the 2025 season. He broke them into six tiers, ranging from the elite options all the way down to the low-end, short-term players. The top of the list is the usual suspects, starting with Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen in that order. Kosko uses Flacco as Cleveland's starter for this one, and he has him at the beginning of the worst tier as the 29th-best quarterback out of 32.
""As much as some Browns fans are excited about Joe Flacco’s return, the reality is he’s a 40-year-old stopgap. He can still deliver competent play and keep the offense on schedule, but he’s clearly a short-term solution until Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel is ready to take over.""John Kosko
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Flacco finds himself in the low-end, short-term tier along with Anthony Richardson of the Colts, Mason Rudolph of the Steelers, and Tyler Shough of the Saints. While Flacco is certainly capable of providing consistent and stable play for the offense, the tier placement and ranking seem fair. He isn't going to be the team's starter past 2025, and the ceiling with him this season is probably around nine or 10 wins, absolute best-case scenario.
It feels inevitable that at least one rookie quarterback will see snaps in 2025, if not both. Flacco can bring value early in the season to allow the offense to create an identity with stable play, but it doesn't make much sense for him to be the starter all season unless the Browns find themselves in legitimate postseason contention.