The scent of Lake Erie in August carries a distinct flavor for Cleveland Browns fans – equal parts diesel fumes from freighters, stale beer from the Muni Lot, and the intoxicating, perennial aroma of hope. It’s a fragrance as stubborn as the rust belt itself, surviving decades of heartbreak, phantom penalties, and jersey-burning meltdowns. Much like John Elway’s helicopter dive or The Philly Special, Cleveland’s offseason optimism, including Joe Flacco and other QBs, is etched into NFL lore – a testament to resilience bordering on the supernatural. And nobody embodies that defiant spirit quite like WWE Superstar The Miz.
Talking to Jim Rome just days before headlining WWE’s first-ever two-night SummerSlam spectacle at MetLife Stadium, The Miz didn’t just defend his beleaguered Browns; he weaponized that hope. Rome, prodding about the familiar cycle of “lows, low, low lows,” got the full, unfiltered Dawg Pound sermon:
“So you look at it as we have a lot of lows. I don’t think you understand what a Browns fan does every single offseason. Every single offseason, every single draft, we look at it and go, this is our year. We could actually win the Super Bowl.” His faith extended even to the much-maligned “Alpha Dog” helmet reveal – the one where the videographer famously took an unplanned plunge into Lake Erie.
“You think we’re gonna be the worst team in all the NFL with Myles Garrett on our team?! You’re kidding me.”@WWE Superstar @mikethemiz is the most optimistic Cleveland Browns fan I’ve met. pic.twitter.com/oKPSTMC4PE
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) August 2, 2025
“I heard a lot of negative feedback from this helmet… I’m in, I love it. I love the new trends.” But The Miz’s real fire was reserved for the crowded, intriguing quarterback room: Kenny Pickett (acquired via trade), rookie Shedeur Sanders (his Big 12 swagger intact), fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, and the ageless, but suddenly precarious, Joe Flacco.“We’re all brand new.”
“I think it’s going to be Pickett to start the season. They’re probably going to trade Flacco…See what Pickett has because Pickett is an MVP of off-seasons and pre-seasons. I want to see what he does… What’s Kevin Stefanski able to do with quarterbacks is unlike any other system in all of the NFL.” Rome, ever the instigator, then dropped the ultimate Browns fan irritant: preseason rankings slotting Cleveland dead last at 32nd. The Miz’s retort was instant, visceral, and echoed in living rooms from Parma to Painesville:
“You think we’re gonna be the worst team in all the NFL with Myles Garrett on our team? You’re kidding me. Like, the defense is stout. The defense is going to be great.” The stats backing Rome’s pessimistic ranking are hard to ignore: a brutal 3-14 record in 2024, the franchise’s worst showing in years. Yet, Miz’s defiance isn’t just blind faith. It’s rooted in Stefanski’s proven, almost alchemical, ability to coax competence – and sometimes brilliance – from the quarterback position.
Stefanski’s QB conundrum: Balancing Flacco’s legacy with Cleveland’s urge for an a new start
Remember 2023? Five different starters. An 11-6 record. A playoff berth. Coach of the Year. His 26-14 (.650) home record since 2020, including 11-4 (.733) against the brutal AFC North at the Dawg Pound, speaks to a coach who builds fortresses and finds answers, even when the questions keep changing. As Miz gushed, “What’s Kevin Stefanski able to do with quarterbacks is unlike any other system in all of the NFL. And I think he knows how to play quarterbacks. He knows how to get the best out of quarterbacks, no matter what is at the quarterback position.”
But 2024 was a system shock. The magic faded. Now, Stefanski faces his most fascinating – and perhaps final – quarterback puzzle in Cleveland. Pickett, the former first-rounder with undeniable moxie but just 15 TD passes vs. 14 INTs in 30 career games, arrived via trade. He’s got the early first-team reps, the presumed inside track.
Sanders, the fifth-round draft wildcard dripping with collegiate swag (71.8% comp, 7,364 yds, 64 TDs at Colorado) and early camp flashes (8/11, 3 TDs vs. first-team D on Day 4), embodies the tantalizing unknown. Gabriel, the third-round rookie and NCAA touchdown king (72.9% comp, 3,857 yds, 30 TDs at Oregon), offers polished precision.
And then there’s Flacco. The 40-year-old Super Bowl XLVII MVP. The 2023 savior who went 4-1 down the stretch to drag Cleveland into the playoffs. The steady hand re-signed as to mentor. But The Miz’s blunt prediction – “they’re probably going to trade Flacco” – hangs heavy in the humid Ohio air.
Flacco’s 2024 stint in Indy (1,761 yds, 12 TDs, 7 INTs, 18 sacks in 8 games) was a stark reminder of time’s undefeated record. With a room suddenly bursting with younger, cheaper arms possessing higher theoretical ceilings, the veteran’s $4 million contract (loaded with incentives) feels less like insurance and more like a luxury Cleveland might struggle to afford. His role shifts from potential bridge to clipboard sage. His legendary arm, once capable of launching ‘Mile High Miracles,’ now faces the very real prospect of launching his NFL career into its twilight.
It’s a brutal calculus. Like evaluating rookie QBs in Madden, you see Flacco’s high ‘Awareness’ and ‘Throw Power’ ratings, but the dipping ‘Speed’ and ‘Acceleration’ stats can’t be ignored. Pickett offers the known commodity with untapped potential, Sanders the electric X-factor, and Gabriel the efficient game manager. As Miz concluded, “I want them to be able to understand the offense and really try to shine as quarterback. So I think it’s a great quarterback room. I know everyone’s like, you’re too many quarterbacks. When you don’t have a quarterback, you need to get as many as you possibly can”
Flacco? He’s the living playbook, the voice of experience in the storm. Yet, in a league perpetually chasing tomorrow, yesterday’s heroism often gets sacrificed at the altar of potential. Stefanski, the Ivy League DB turned QB whisperer, knows better than anyone the value of both poise and projection. His decision will define not just Flacco’s final chapter, but whether The Miz’s eternal Cleveland flame gets doused for another year, or finally, miraculously, catches fire. The Dawg Pound holds its breath. Again!
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