QB Joe Flacco (5.28.25)
It seems almost like a three ring circus at times out there on practice field with all these extra reps. How do you think it’s been going the first two days?
“It’s going well. Listen, it’s the offseason, it’s OTAs. It’s fun to get back out there and actually play a little football again. It’s funny. It’s like every time I go out here in the offseason, I’ve done it a million times, but it’s like there’s a little piece of you is like, all right, let’s see if I still know how to read it and let it go and do all those things. So it’s good to get back out there and start doing it again.”
Joe, I know you’ve probably been asked this the past couple of years, but, like, when you come into these quarterback rooms, especially one like this, where you’ve got guys who are like, in grade school when you made your NFL debut, what’s the dynamic like, especially for you, interacting with all these new quarterbacks?
“I think it’s a lot of fun. Actually just from experience, I think they tend to get a little bit of a kick out of me just because I am 40 years old now and could be their fathers probably. And it’s fun for me too, in the same kind of way. I mean, they’re young and they have a lot of life and a lot of energy and a lot of new things that kind of keep me in the loop with my kids and all those things. It’s fun. I mean, everybody in that locker room, it’s like we’re all 25-year-olds just having the time of our lives. And look, we get to come out here and do this for a living, so why wouldn’t we feel that way?”
Joe, when is the last time you were in a real quarterback competition? Like this one seems to be.
“I don’t know, high school. Probably my sophomore year of high school. I, I could be wrong though. I, I don’t know.”
So what’s that like, though?
“Oh, listen, I’m not really thinking about it that much, honestly. I’m just kind of going out there and doing what I do and, you know, everything else is kind of out of my control. So all I can do is go out there and play football and that’s what I’m doing.”
When you were here in ‘23, Jerry Jeudy was not.
“Yeah, he’s exciting. I mean, he’s got speed, he’s got route running ability, and you can see the look in his eyes. You know he wants to be good and he wants to do it the right way, so it’s exciting to be around him.
Kind of similar to Amari Cooper in that standpoint?
“Oh, listen, no knock-on Jerry, but, I mean, Amari’s done it for a long time, and he’s a little bit of a different cat. So when I say I see the look in his eyes out here, I think he’s striving to be somebody like that for sure. But, I mean, listen, Amari’s done it for a while now. Like I said, he’s a little bit of a different dude. He’s pretty damn good.”
What are you seeing in Kenny (Pickett)? I see you guys out there, you know, kind of talking a lot, and it looks like you guys have really developed a nice rapport.
“Listen, we spent a lot of time together, all the quarterbacks do. I think that’s the nature of the beast. When you’re in this business and you’re in a room together a lot, you better ways to get along and find common ground with people. And that’s what we’re doing in there. We’re having a blast and having a lot of fun, talking football and then just laughing at things that come up on a daily basis.”
Have you ever tried the VR?
“So I’ve been around some VR. I tend to just, like sitting in the room and watching it on film. I think when you talk to different individuals, everybody has a little bit of a different experience. And if you feel like you’re getting help from it’s a nice way to get extra reps. And, you know, a lot of the times with things like that, even if it’s not, like, earth shattering, if you feel like it is and you feel like it’s giving you a lot of help, then it. So I think there is value in it. I’ve never been one of those guys to kind of do it, but if that’s what you like, then there’s probably a lot of value in it.”
Just you have been around. You’ve seen so much, almost everything. Even, you know, with Lamar (Jackson) coming into Baltimore, how have you know, sensed the whole Shedeur (Sanders) sort of celebrity and aura that kind of follows him around. What impact does that have on anything?
“I don’t know if it has an impact on much, but Shedeur has been great. I mean, he’s a lot of fun to be around in those meeting rooms. I think so far, there’s been at least once in the meeting room that he’s made me crack a smile, and that’s what it’s all about. You know, he’s a young guy trying to learn some football and come out here and practice well and do those things. And like I said, he’s been a lot of fun. I probably wasn’t too far away from playing against his dad, and now I’m playing with him, so.”
Joe, you’ve been vocal in recent years that you don’t like veteran quarterbacks having a duty as a mentor. Why do you think us in the outside world make such a big deal of that?
“It’s a talking point. You can kind of, like, use it. It’s a good question to bait somebody into answering, and no matter how they answer it kind of makes the guy that’s answering it look bad. If I say I don’t want to be a mentor, I look bad. If I say I do want to be a mentor, then I look like an idiot that doesn’t care about being good and playing football. So it’s one of those questions that no matter what I say, you guys can write what you want to write about it. And there’s a lot of questions like that and that’s why you end up having to try to avoid them. I tend to try to be honest and I’ve said I’m not a mentor. I play football. And in a quarterback room, there’s been already a ton of times where there’s learning experiences, and I have a lot of experience, and I can talk on things, and hopefully they listen, but it’s not necessarily, like, my job to make sure they listen to me. And, you know, hey, hopefully you have a really good relationship with the guys that are in the room, and you naturally want to do that, you know, but that was a long winded answer. But that’s ultimately why I think you guys ask it.
Joe, you said you weren’t going to watch the draft so when you found out that the Browns drafted two quarterbacks, did you have any kind of reaction to that?
“I think you always have a little bit of reaction, going back to being honest. Yeah, my wife was like, ‘they just drafted another guy.’ My wife is on top of it, you know, so there you go.”
Do you think that your view, what you just said is more of a predominant view, and then other quarterbacks are maybe less willing to be direct about it?
“Listen, here’s the thing is because of what I just said, like, you’re acting like I wouldn’t want to be a mentor. Once again, it’s not really about that. It’s just not the main focus. I see myself as a guy that can play in this league. So if your main focus was just like, hey, but I’m going to get you ready. You’re just not taking care of business. The best way to be a mentor, honestly, is show people how you go to work and like I said, hope that they pick up on that stuff, but not necessarily force them to pick up on the things that you do.”
Do you think you will be a better quarterback as a result of being here from the very start as opposed to 2023?
“I think there’s probably some validity to that. And then at the same time, like, the offseason gets overblown and how important it actually is. In my experience, I love being here at this time with OTAs. Do I love phase one and phase two? Not really. Do I love OTAs and minicamp? I really do. You’re playing football, you know, you’re doing what you do, and at this point in my career, I have such a routine that I’m in that I could stay in during phase one and phase two, that ultimately could be more valuable. You could argue whether it is or not. I think there’s value in being here in the locker room with your guys. I think that’s the value. Do I think doing all the stuff that we’re doing is super valuable? Maybe not. And then the other thing about that is when you get back for training camp, as valuable as this is or isn’t, when you get back for training camp, it’s training camp and it starts over, and now it’s the real season, and that’s what matters. So, like, for some guys around the league that don’t necessarily come to these, or for guys that don’t need to participate in these, training camp, if you show up and you’re ready to go, and you’re one of those guys that can be ready to go and play at the top of their game. That’s what matters.”
Joe, Tony’s (Grossi) question there. Is there a comfort level now because you were here in ‘23 and you’re not maybe having to play as much crash course, catch up as far as learning the system and the offense, is there a lot of similarity or are you having to basically learn yet another new offense now?
“I think you always kind of go back to the beginning and re-learn and do those things, especially when you’ve taken a year to be in another offense. There’s always refreshers. And I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t any level of, like, being a little more comfortable being here just because you’re familiar with your surroundings and things like that, but I think at the end of the day, you always kind of have to go back to the beginning and re-learn and learn again and kind of start from square one.”
So there’s a narrative that Joe doesn’t need as many reps. What’s your read on that?
“Yeah, I think there’s probably some truth in that. At the same time, I like getting reps. I have fun going out there, and I want to throw to these guys. But, yeah, listen, at certain times, I think there’s some truth in I don’t need as many. We just talked about it, like, how important is this time of the year? And I think it’s fun and I think it’s important. I don’t think it’s the most important.”
Joe, if the fans were determining who’s going to be the starter on opening day, you would win that one hands down. Because every single place that I go, everyone tells me that they want you to start. So my question to you is, just how cool is it for you to land back here where you just have the absolute love of all these Cleveland Browns fans? And are you feeling it again?
“Yeah, it’s a cool place. I mean, the last time I was here, you picked up on it. It’s a city that loves football and is hungry for some winning. And I think that’s what resonated is we won games. And listen, yeah, it feels good, but you’ve got to go out there and you got to perform and you’ve got to play well, and you’ve got to win football games. That’s what it’s all about. And that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m working hard to put myself in the best position to be out there winning football games.”
Percentage, maybe, because obviously, like, the offense was kind of revamped last year when you were gone. But if you have to put a percentage on how similar it is to when you were here in 2023, what would you say?
“That’s like asking, like, oh, if I’m injured, I’m like, 80%. I never really understood that. I don’t know how to come up with a percentage. It’s either like 100 or 0. There’s a lot of the same. It’s a lot of similar concepts and things like that. There may be some new names and new ways we’re kind of teaching things, but ultimately, a lot of the core stuff is pretty similar, so a good amount, yeah.”
Joe, Jerry (Jeudy) was just talking. He says he’s locker mates with you and that you guys have a lot of conversations over the course. What are those like? And how important is that, especially with a guy like Jerry, to kind of develop that bond beyond just on the field?
“Yeah. Well, if you’re assuming we’re in there talking about football, we’re not usually. I can’t tell you what were just talking about in there. But it’s fun, yeah. Like, I love that. I was walking back to my locker, and three guys were sitting right there, and I’m like, ‘all right, what’s the topic? What are we talking about?’ And they usually tend to shut up and listen because they think I have some kind of wisdom because I’m old. I don’t necessarily, at least on some of the things they’re talking about, I’m not sure I do have the right kind of knowledge about that, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Joe, along the lines of understanding your point on mentorship, but you talk about, like, learning from the experience that you have. How much are those, with the two rookie quarterbacks, how often are those conversations happening?
“Yeah, a good amount. I mean, look, like there’s been, like, the first day were out here throwing routes, like, Shedeur (Sanders) was asking me about steps and things like that. I mean, Dillon (Gabriel) was, you know, calling me up, trying to mimic my cadence, like, for whatever reason, he wants to get it similar. So, you know, even down to the cadence. I mean, there’s questions, things and conversations that are happening and they’re fun, you know.”
After they drafted Shedeur (Sanders) and Dillon (Gabriel), does that add any more motivation for you at all?
“Well, it’s like when somebody asked the question, like, ‘do you feel a certain way when they draft two quarterbacks or whatever?’ I think there’s no shying away, that there’s something that gets ignited in you a little bit. Like there’s a reason I still want to play this game, you know, but at the end of the day, I really don’t focus on those things. I focus on coming out here, doing my work, having a lot of fun. And all those other things fall into place. Making good relations, having good relationships with guys. And that’s the quarterbacks included. It’s not just the receivers and the O-line and the running backs. It’s having good relationships in that quarterback room. You spend a lot of time with those guys. They all seem to be great guys and guys that want to play well and get better so I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
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