Joe Flacco steers clear of mentoring Shedeur Sanders & co. in crowded Browns QB room

Joe Flacco is back with the Cleveland Browns after a magical 2023 season in which the partnership ended with a playoff berth amid an injury crisis. The AFC North franchise didn't have the best season in 2024 and is looking to bounce back after a busy offseason.

The Browns still have several questions to answer after sorting out the Myles Garrett saga. The quarterback race appears to be the biggest question mark for Kevin Stefanski's team, as they have four players with chances to take the starting spot.

Joe Flacco - reportedly against mentoring Lamar Jackson on the Baltimore Ravens and Anthony Richardson on the Indianapolis Colts - is expected to help the young guys on the team.

Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel are just starting their careers and they could benefit from sharing touches with a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

On Wednesday, as Cleveland finished their voluntary OTAs, Flacco was asked about what he can do to support the rookies and if he plans to be a mentor for them.

"It's a good question to bait somebody into answering, and no matter how they answer it, it kind of makes the guy that's answering it look bad. If I say I don't want to be a mentor, I look bad. If I say I do want to be a mentor, then I look like an idiot that doesn't care about being good at playing football."

The Browns appear to have a good problem in hand. Joe Flacco, Sanders, Gabriel and Kenny Pickett look like solid candidates to take the starting spot, but the competition will get more intense as training camp and the preseason draw closer.

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Joe Flacco makes his thoughts clear on Shedeur Sanders

As he prepares for the 2025 NFL season, Joe Flacco reflected on his career as he is one of the oldest quarterbacks in the league and someone who almost competed against Shedeur Sanders' father, Deion Sanders.

While discussing his initial impressions of the Colorado Buffaloes quarterback, Flacco recalled he almost shared the field with "Prime Time."

"Shedeur has been great. I mean, he's a lot of fun to be around in the meeting rooms..," Flacco said. "He's a young guy trying to learn some football and come out here and practice well and do those things. And, like I said, he's been a lot of fun... I probably wasn’t too far away from playing against his dad and now I’m playing with him."

Time will tell if they can be competitive again, but the Cleveland Browns should be fun to watch next season.