After Joe Flacco threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns in the Cleveland Browns’ 31-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski named the 38-year-old veteran his team’s starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.
So it was curious to many when the NFL’s transaction wire on Monday included the news that Flacco had reverted back to Cleveland’s practice squad, and thus, is now eligible to sign with any other team.
Multiple NFL insiders — including ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler and Audacy/SportsLine’s Jason La Canfora — took to X (formerly Twitter) to note the distinction and the potential risk it could cause the Browns.
Joe Flacco has reverted back to the Browns’ practice squad and, at the same, he also is now eligible to sign with another team’s active roster. Despite any interest, Flacco wants to remain in Cleveland.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 11, 2023
Currently, despite his strong play, Joe Flacco is a free agent who reverted back to CLE practice squad. Anyone could sign him. Agent Joe Linta said he spoke briefly with Browns Sun night but that's it for now. You'd think that'd be high priority for CLE w/so much QB need in NFL
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 11, 2023
New #Browns QB Joe Flacco, straight off the couch, has 565 passing yards and five touchdowns in two games.
As a member of the practice squad, another team can pluck him at any time to place him on its 53-man roster.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) December 10, 2023
Quick follow here: Flacco is eligible for one more week of practice squad elevation, but since he's now the starter for the year, makes sense to sign him to the 53 for the rest of the year. That hasn't happened yet, and will need to be worked out between Browns and Flacco. https://t.co/dLmo9epy3y
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) December 10, 2023
These posts, however, don’t necessarily reflect the full circumstances of the situation.
While it’s technically accurate that Flacco could sign with another team, it’s not as simple as one “plucking” the former Super Bowl MVP off of Cleveland’s practice squad. Rather, the Delaware product would have to agree to sign elsewhere. Considering he’s already entrenched as the starting quarterback for the Browns — who have an inside track to the AFC playoffs — it’s hard to imagine another team could offer Flacco a more appealing situation than the one he’s currently in.
As The Athletic’s Dianna Russini pointed out, if another team were to offer Flacco a deal to join its 53-man roster, the quarterback would likely take it to the Browns, who would then make the moves necessary to sign him themselves. And as for the idea of another team outbidding Cleveland for its own starting quarterback, it’s worth noting that the Browns lay claim to the second-most salary cap in the league, trailing only the San Francisco 49ers (who don’t need a quarterback).
So why wouldn’t Cleveland just sign Flacco to its 53-man roster and avoid any risk? As Russini noted, it’s a matter of roster management.
With the Browns battling injuries, every roster spot for them is valuable. Thus, it makes sense for Cleveland to keep Flacco on its practice squad — which it can do for another week — and elevate him for this Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears before signing him to the 53-man roster next week.
Lots of confusion as to why Joe Flacco is on the practice squad for the Browns.
It’s roster management. After being elevated to the game day roster, he reverts back to the practice squad. Yes, in theory someone could sign him to their 53-man roster and have to keep him there…— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) December 11, 2023
So why would multiple insiders make it sound as if Cleveland is in even remote danger of Flacco signing elsewhere?
While it behooves the Browns to keep him on their practice squad, the veteran quarterback would likely prefer the job security — and salary bump — that would come with being added to the 53-man roster. It will also be interesting to see what Flacco’s eventual contract with Cleveland looks like considering his sudden vitality to the Browns’ playoff hopes.
After all, Schefter, La Canfora and Fowler’s posts each mentioned pending negotiations and not in a way that seems standard for a team that would simply be signing a player from its practice squad. Perhaps this is an angle that Flacco’s agent — who La Canfora namedropped — wants out there. Or maybe as reporters did their due diligence, Flacco’s agent, Joe Linta, responded in a way that was noncommittal in an effort to maintain negotiating leverage.
Either way, the Browns don’t seem concerned about the situation. Asked by reporters on Monday when his team would be adding Flacco to its main roster, Stefanski replied, “Don’t worry about it.”
“It’ll all work out,” Stefanski said. “I wouldn’t be hung up on this one.”
Considering Cleveland’s track record at the quarterback position and the way Flacco remaining on the practice squad is being portrayed, however, the concern from Browns fans is understandable — even if it’s unwarranted.
