Joe Flacco in pole position to land starting Browns QB job in crowded competition

The Browns’ QB1 job is apparently Joe Flacco’s to lose entering spring practices.That’s according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, who said Tuesday on “The Rich Eisen Show,” the Super Bowl-winning quarterback is in “pole position” to take the initial snaps in Cleveland, which added a handful of signal-callers this offseason as starter Deshaun Watson continues his recovery from an Achilles injury.“My sense is that Joe Flacco is going to take the first snap in the spring, which there’s some significance to that,” Breer said of the 40-year-old, who is on his second stint with the Browns after a surprise playoff berth in 2023.“I think [Steelers coach] Mike Tomlin called it pole position last year when he was talking about his own quarterback situation.I think Joe Flacco has pole position here.”Flacco, who spent last season with the Colts, will compete for the starting job against Kenny Pickett, a 2022 first-round pick with the Steelers, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.Pickett, fresh off a Super Bowl win with the Eagles, was traded to the Browns in March after serving as Jalen Hurts’ backup for one year.Although Flacco may be poised to get “the first snap in the spring,” Breer noted things could change with Pickett, 26, come training camp in the summer.“The guarantees in Joe Flacco’s deal and Kenny Pickett’s deal are almost identical to one another.

So, walking away from either guy would more or less have the same penalty.So, even though Joe Flacco gets the first snap in the spring, that doesn’t mean, like, Kenny Pickett won’t get the first snap in the summer or that Joe Flacco is gonna make the team if Kenny Pickett wins the job,” Breer said.Cleveland has several key decisions to make before the season begins, including who the backup quarterback will be and which quarterbacks will be on the final roster.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday how the Browns “look at the roster through the prism of v...