Even at 39, Joe Flacco’s fire hasn’t flickered. The veteran QB knew the questions were coming, about retirement, about role, about relevance. It’s the last week of July in Berea, and Flacco, now entering his 18th NFL season, stands at the center of a quarterback room that looks nothing like it did just a year ago. Yet the veteran, fresh off signing a one-year deal to return to the Cleveland Browns, isn’t blinking; he’s doubling down.
But don’t mistake Flacco’s presence as symbolic. The Browns’ QB told the NFL Network, “The bottom line is, I’ve always been a football player,” Flacco said this week. “I feel like I can play this game at a high level still. So, why would I think otherwise? I’m still excited about what’s ahead.” He even addressed the questions around his retirement, but what came out of not taking that step, he says, helped him more.
.@Browns QB Joe Flacco still has the passion and desire to play the game at a high level.
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He further added, “There’s definitely times where [retirement] peeps in your head,” Flacco admitted. “It would’ve been easy to stop a couple years ago. But I didn’t, and I’ve gotten so much out of that. I still think I’ve got more to give.”
During Saturday’s training camp session, Flacco went 4-of-8 with no touchdowns and no interceptions, a modest outing compared to the younger arms around him. Flacco isn’t fading into the background. Stefanski’s staff values his presence not just for what he did in 2023, when he threw for over 1,600+ yards and 13 TDs in five starts to carry Cleveland to the postseason, but for how he still sees himself: capable, steady, and unshaken.
This is a developing story.
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