Insider Exposes the Odd Man Out in Browns’ Quarterback Battle

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 from 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 squad plans to allocate just three positions for quarterbacks; however, according to Cabot, they might retain four signal-callers for their initial 53-member roster setup. Last season, they adopted a comparable strategy by keeping Tyler Huntley onboard, anticipating potential trades. Although those deals didn’t materialize, the club eventually released Huntley prior to the start of the regular season.

It’s difficult to imagine many potential suitors lining up for Flacco. This isn’t due to his level of performance—even at 39 years old, he managed to win two games while throwing for 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Instead, teams might hesitate because of where Flacco stands on Cleveland’s current roster; they could simply opt to wait for him to become available through a possible release if their interest in the seasoned player remains strong enough.

Conversely, Flacco might just perform well enough to secure his position, which could create a complex scenario for the Browns. The probable outcome involves moving away from Pickett, but if both experienced players deserve roster spots, they may opt to part ways with a draft pick or attempt to add a rookie to their practice squad stealthily.

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.

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