Joe Flacco has no intention of hanging up his cleats after this season, regardless of how the rest of the season unfolds with the Cleveland Browns.
Flacco has looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL since taking over under center for the Browns. He has thrown for over 300 yards in a franchise-record four consecutive games. Cleveland has recorded a 4-1 record with Flacco as the starter and has locked up a playoff berth.
Flacco is 38 years old but has proved he has lots left in the tank. He has every intention of continuing his career next season.
“Even though I’ve made it clear I want to play, people still have the question of whether I want to still play. I’m like ‘Yeah dude. I still want to go,’” Flacco said on Friday, December 29 on the Pat McAfee Show. “I think part of it is that there are not too many times you play with a team for a really long time, then it doesn’t work out. You get a little injured, then this happens and that happens. But you’re willing kind of take the backup role in hopes that at some point you can get back to that level where you think you should be.
“I think a lot of people look at that from the outside and say I should have hung it up a year or two ago and been perfectly fine. But that’s just not what I wanted to do. I felt like I needed to keep going and owed it to myself to keep going.”
Browns QB Joe Flacco Feels ‘Great’ in Cleveland
Since leaving the Baltimore Ravens in 2018 after 11 seasons, Flacco has bounced around the league. Before suiting up for the Browns, Flacco played for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets, serving as both a starter and backup.
Flacco has turned back the clock in Cleveland. In five games he’s passed for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He’s in charge of an offense that is missing multiple key pieces due to injury but has a 90.2 QB rating and is completing 60.3% of his passes.
Flacco credited the Browns’ offensive line for giving him time and keeping him healthy.
“These guys are doing a great job protecting me. I have a lot of room in the pocket right now,” Flacco said. “I feel great.”
He did have a slight scare against the Jets when Quinnen Williams came roaring up the middle and smacked him in the head. But Flacco shook off the hit, rolled out and hit Jerome Ford for a 50-yard touchdown.
“Where was the flag on that,” Flacco said with a smile.
Joe Flacco Wants to Play 2 More Season: Insider
Flacco has not been specific about his future plans. However, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated provided some insight into how Flacco is approaching the rest of his career.
“I’m told Flacco wants to play two more years in the league beyond this one,” Breer wrote on Friday, December 29. “And while he played as a practice-squad promotion over his first few weeks in Cleveland, two other teams reached out with serious interest in signing him, sources said, which would indicate the outside interest will be there for Flacco to do just that.”
If Flacco wants to remain a starter, it’s unlikely he stays with the Browns. Deshaun Watson is expected to be ready for the start of next season. Cleveland’s $230 million QB will be the starter when he returns.
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