On Tuesday, PFT reported that Joe Flacco’s first choice in free agency would be to return to the Browns for 2024.
Now Flacco has backed that up with his own on-the-record comments.
In an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, Flacco said he spoke with his agent — who was at the scouting combine — to get a feel for what his market might be.
“I can tell you that, all things equal, Cleveland is definitely the place where I’d feel best about,” Flacco said. “Now, then you have to get into the world of, is someone actually going to give me a chance to play? And all the different things that go into that.
“But I can’t help but have a special feeling about Cleveland, just because of the few weeks that I spent there and how great the city was. And, listen, at the end of the day, I don’t necessarily want that to be a huge part [or] all of the decision. But I do think it will factor into the decision — if I end up having a decision to make.”
While Flacco was 4-1 as a starter for Cleveland, helping power the team to the postseason, he would enter 2024 as the backup behind Deshaun Watson. That’s something Flacco said he’s comfortable with.
“Yeah, listen, obviously if I go back to Cleveland, then I’ve wrapped my mind around that idea,” Flacco said. “Obviously, I want to play football. That’s also a really, really, really big factor — probably the biggest factor. But that’s what I’m saying. I don’t think you can really make that decision without any hard things laid in front of you. And you sit down with your family and you see what’s best. There’s all kinds of things I could take you through that would probably have a factor in my decision. We don’t need to go through all those right now. B
“I can honestly say, Cleveland is an unbelievable place and it definitely will hold special value when I make those decisions.”
Flacco completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,616 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions for Cleveland in his five starts. But the postseason loss to Houston did not go as well, as Flacco threw for 307 yards with a touchdown and two pick-sixes.
The No. 18 overall pick of the 2008 draft, Flacco turned 39 in January.