Ohio’s Cleveland Will the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year, Joe Flacco, rejoin the Browns to back up Deshaun Watson?
Having gone 4-1 in the final stretch and assisted the Browns in securing just their third postseason appearance since 1999, he’s definitely amenable to it, and vice versa. Unfortunately, in the Browns’ 45-14 wild card round loss to the Texans, his and the team’s luck ran out, but without him, they never would have made it that far.
Before taking home the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year award, Flacco told Cleveland.com on the red carpet at the NFL Honours presentation, “I’m going to take my time as always, but it was one of the best experiences of my life.” “I adore that place and would definitely like to return.”
The 16-year veteran, who was first added to the Browns practice squad on November 19, is also available for re-signing. From Week 13 onward, he led the NFL in passing yards (323.2-yards per game) and tied for second in the league with 13 touchdown passes. They’ll look into other veteran quarterback options as well, such as Josh Dobbs and former Brown Jacoby Brissett, but they were so impressed with Flacco, 39, that an extension was agreed upon.
Flacco’s return will depend, in part, on if another team saw enough in him during those six games to give him a chance to start or compete for a starting job. He knows that in Cleveland, his only chance to play will be if Watson gets hurt again or isn’t himself coming off surgery to repair the fractured socket in his right throwing shoulder. Having gotten a taste of starting again, he certainly doesn’t want to ride the bench if he doesn’t have to.
But will a team take a chance this offseason after no one did last year? Flacco, whom the Jets let walk in free agency after the 2022 season, watched NFL games from his parents’ couch in south New Jersey until Watson suffered the fractured shoulder in Baltimore in Week 10.
Proving here that he still has plenty left in the tank — including one of the best deep balls in the NFL — he has no plans to couch-surf again in 2024.
“I’m not riding off into any sunset,” he said in the NFL Honors media room. “It’s not my style. I don’t care how ugly it gets, I want to be playing until maybe it does get ugly. I want to be dragged off that field. Having said that, it may not be up to me. It took until week whatever for me to even be on a team this year. I understand that not all of those decisions are made by me. But I think I’m going to be back out there next year, and take it day by day.
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