The Cleveland Browns looked like they made a huge upgrade at quarterback during the Week 13 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. For the first time in a while this season, the Browns were actually showing signs of life offensively and it was because of the addition of the former Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Joe Flacco. While this has been the first real opportunity Flacco has had since losing the starting job to Ravens MVP Quarterback Lamar Jackson in 2019, not all of his former teammates were thrilled that he joined another team within the division.
Raven’s Hall of Fame Safety speaks his mind on Cleveland Browns QB
While this opportunity could be a huge benefit to Flacco closing out his career on an upswing, a lot of his former Ravens teammates take the intra-divisional rivalry in the AFC North very seriously. One high profile former teammate of his did come to his defense on this matter however.
Ed Reed was a guaranteed hall of famer after distinguishing himself as one of the greatest safeties to ever strap up his boots. Reed was a pivotal player on the 2013 Super Bowl Champion Ravers team and has come to Flacco’s defense regarding him swapping in his Ravens jersey for the Browns jersey of northern Ohio.
Reed had an emphatic answer on the matter: “It’s not like he’s going to the Steelers, man! He’s somewhere that actually has a connection to Baltimore. But I’m all for it. It might be a Cinderella thing, it might be awesome, if Joe can get them to the playoffs.” The Steelers were obviously the chief rival of the Baltimore Ravens during Reed’s error while the Browns and Bengals both suffered from perpetual mediocrity or below.
Reed went on to talk about the natural talent his former quarterback still possessed throwing the football: “Nah, it’s not the craziest, Joe wasn’t even retired. (Expletive), I can still throw the ball 60, 70 yards on a dime and I’m 45. Joe’s just in his 30s — and he played QB. I think once he gets his feet under him, he’ll be fine.”
Cleveland Browns’ Joe Flacco’s big opportunity
It is no doubt that Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has had his fair share of issues at the quarterback position this season. Flacco has earned a shot with the Cleveland Browns after rookie backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was ruled out with a concussion on Friday. Flacco was elevated to backup after just spending one week on the roster following the season-ending injury of starting quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Flacco went on to finish the game 23 for 44 whilst throwing for 254 passing yards. He also threw for two touchdowns and an interception while finishing with a below average quarterback rating of 75.4. It is important to note that having spent so little time with the Browns, he has little understanding of the playbook and will be able to run much more complicated plays as the season goes on.
While he has a much better ability to throw the ball down the field, Flacco certainly doesn’t possess the running ability of either of his predecessors. The Browns will look like an entirely different offense over the past few weeks and also saw their number one receiver Amari Cooper go down with a concussion in the loss against the Los Angeles Rams.