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By Max Dible
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Cleveland Browns moved on from quarterback Joe Flacco on Tuesday for the second time in three years, and the veteran's reaction was not what some might have expected.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported shortly after the news broke that Flacco was actually in favor of the move.
"Flacco didn’t ask for the trade, but he certainly welcomed it when the Browns talked to him about it on Tuesday, a source told Cleveland.com," Cabot wrote. "The last thing he wanted to do was ride the bench here for the rest of the season, with the Browns needing to see what they have in their two rookies, [Dillon] Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, before the 2026 draft. They have two first-round picks in that seemingly rich QB class, their own and that of the 4-1 [Jacksonville] Jaguars."
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Flacco's history with the Browns is both recent and complicated.
Cleveland let Flacco walk in free agency following a 4-1 stretch as the starter at the end of the 2023 campaign, which ended in a playoff berth for the Browns and Kevin Stefanski winning NFL Coach of the Year.
However, Deshaun Watson was coming back healthy in 2024 and entering the third season of his five-year, $230 million deal. The franchise didn't want to alienate itself from the fanbase or locker room by circumstances forcing it to choose Watson over Flacco, even if going with the veteran made more win-now sense.
The Browns brought Flacco back ahead of this season to compete with Kenny Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders for the starting job, which he won before the regular season began. Flacco played in four games for Cleveland in 2025, starting all of them and leading the team to a 1-3 mark before he was demoted in favor of Gabriel.
Read More: Shedeur Sanders Breaks Silence on Browns’ Rumored QB Plans
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