"Shedeur better be the QB2": NFL fans react as Joe Flacco gets named Browns starting QB

The Cleveland Browns gave the starting job to Joe Flacco on Monday. He will open the season under center against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7.

The decision capped a training camp competition that also included Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett, both of whom spent time sidelined with injuries.

Sanders, drafted in the first round, missed crucial practice reps with an oblique strain. That left Flacco as the steady option heading into Week 1.

The announcement drew reactions among fans on X.

"Shedeur better be the QB2," one user wrote.

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰

@the_det_times

Shedeur better be the QB2 🤷‍♂️

"Why draft Shedeur then? Give him a chance," another user wrote.

"Shedeur Sanders will be the starter by midseason," another added.

More reactions poured in.

"Old man Joe still got it," one user wrote.

"It was always going to be Flacco, let the young guys develop and stay healthy for the future," another user wrote.

"Good. Bench sanders," another added.

Joe Flacco entered the league in 2008 as Baltimore’s first-round pick. He brings nearly two decades of experience and a Super Bowl ring to the Browns huddle. He has started 191 career games and previously guided Cleveland to a playoff berth in 2023.

Last season, he made six starts with Indianapolis, throwing for 1,761 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Colts finished 2-4 in those outings.

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Kevin Stefanski is banking on Joe Flacco's experience

NFL: Cleveland Browns Training Camp - Source: Imagn

Coach Kevin Stefanski has emphasized Joe Flacco’s steadiness as a reason for his confidence in him. Stefanski noted that Flacco’s style as a traditional pocket passer fits with the Browns’ offense.

“We’ve seen Joe over the course of his career, we certainly saw it in 2023, the style of play that Joe, really has been his calling card his file life,” Stefanski said last week on the Browns’ in-house special "Man Under Center".

“He’s a pocket passer that can make every throw from the pocket. He’s a better athlete than you think."

The Browns have shuffled through multiple quarterbacks in past years, from Deshaun Watson’s suspensions and injuries to midseason replacements in 2022 and 2023.

Joe Flacco’s presence provides stability in a position that has often unsettled Cleveland’s playoff hopes.