While the ink still isn’t dry on Joe Flacco‘s contract with the Browns, there’s already speculation that the veteran may not make it to the regular season with his new squad. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Joe Flacco is likely the odd man out in the Browns quarterbacks room.
The team’s positional depth has obviously changed a bit since Flacco inked a deal with Cleveland in early April. The Browns added a pair of big-name rookies via the draft, and it sounds like the team is committed to giving roster spots to both third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and surprising fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders.
As the Browns navigated Deshaun Watson‘s injury and tenuous standing on their squad, the team went out and made a trade for Kenny Pickett earlier this offseason. Cabot believes the former first-round pick is in prime position to retain his roster spot, and that would leave Flacco on the outside looking in.
The team would surely only commit three roster spots to the quarterback position, but Cabot says the team could hang on to four QBs for the first iteration of their 53-man roster. The team did something similar last year, when they kept Tyler Huntley with the hopes of a trade popping up. A deal never came to fruition, and the organization moved on from Huntley before Week 1.
It’s hard to envision a long line of suitors for Flacco. That has nothing to do with his quality of play — even during his age-39 season, Flacco won a pair of games while tossing 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Rather, teams will likely be cognizant of Flacco’s spot on Cleveland’s roster, and they may just wait out an inevitable release if they truly have interest in the veteran.
On the flip side, Flacco could simply play himself into a role, potentially leading to a tricky situation for the Browns. The most likely path would see them move on from Pickett, but if both vets are truly deserving of a spot, then it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for them to ditch a draft pick or try to sneak a rookie onto their practice squad.
Meanwhile, we’ve finally gotten some details on Flacco’s contract (via OverTheCap.com). His one-year, $4M pact includes $3M in guaranteed money, although a chunk of that total is tied to roster bonuses that could be avoided. Flacco is also attached to a $2.85M cap hit, and the Browns would be left with half of that on the books if they outright released the quarterback.
