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Forty-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco will be the Week 1 starter for the Browns, 17 years after he was the Week 1 starter for the Ravens.
How does he feel about becoming QB1 in Cleveland?
“Listen, it’s just business as usual,” Flacco told reporters on Tuesday. “Go out there and get another good practice in, get some rest with the guys and continue to work towards what we’ve been all training camp. . . . Like I said, you keep your head down and you just try to do your best, and I felt like I was having a good camp with the reps that I was given, and that’s all you can do.”
Were there any emotions involved in getting the news?
“I don’t know if I was very emotional about it, but listen, you don’t take for granted opportunities in this league, especially to get one at this point in my career is definitely special, but like I said, it’s pretty much business as usual and just kind of trying to get better,” Flacco said.
He also was asked whether it’s his understanding that he’ll be the starter for the entire season.
“Well, we all know how that works,” Flacco said. “I mean, that’s everybody in the league, but it’s not really my job to look at it in that way. It’s just to go out there and play my game. Kind of like I’ve been doing all training camp and not worrying about all that stuff, just going out there, playing my game and being the best I can.”
The reality for Flacco and the Browns is that the first six games are daunting: Bengals, at Ravens, Packers, at Lions, vs. Vikings in London, at Pittsburgh. The Browns then have a bye after games against the Dolphins and Patriots. If they’re, say, 3-6 or worse at that point, there’s a chance they’ll give one of their two rookies (Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel) a try.
Mike Florio’s latest book releases Tuesday, August 19!
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