"Part of the game": Joe Flacco sympathizes with Shedeur Sanders after outrage on game plan for rookie following poor performance vs. Rams

NFL: AUG 16 Preseason Browns at Eagles - Source: Getty
Joe Flacco refuses to sympathize with Shedeur Sanders - Source: Getty

Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Joe Flacco spoke about rookie Shedeur Sanders' disappointing outing on Saturday. Despite high expectations after his impressive performance in the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers, Coach Prime's son could not continue that winning momentum.

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Shedeur Sanders completed just 3 of 6 passes for 14 yards with five sacks in Saturday's 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The struggles raised questions about his potential to make the 53-man roster in the next few days. This sparked outrage from fans who noticed different game plans for Shedeur during the game, and also questioned Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski for "sabotaging" the rookie.

In the postgame news conference, Joe Flacco talked about Shedeur's poor performance and put aside any outrage. He shared a memory from his own career during his time with the Baltimore Ravens as a rookie.

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"Yeah, dude, I remember," Flacco said. "Yeah, big time. I can remember just like yesterday. I mean, that's part of being a rookie, you know. You're gonna get thrown into situations that maybe you don't think are ideal. I got thrown into a game against New England with two minutes left. I fumbled on the 1-yard line, and they scored two plays later. And that was John Harbaugh's first preseason game, and he was not happy.
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"I wasn't happy either, but, hey, so it's part of the game. It's part of what makes a football player is learning how to, like, deal with those situations and learn from them. So, yeah, listen, we've all been there. It's part of the game."
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Joe Flacco began his NFL journey with the Baltimore Ravens in 2008. He played for the Browns in 2023 as the backup to Deshaun Watson. During that season, he saw time in five games with 1,616 yards and 13 TDs passing while the Browns finished with an 11-6 record.


Browns insider not sold on Joe Flacco as the team's starting quarterback

Browns insider Tony Grossi believes that Flacco will not remain the starting quarterback for the entirety of the 2025 season.

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On the ESPN Cleveland show, he said that the Browns might reconsider utilizing Kenny Pickett after he recovers from his hamstring injury.

"The announcement the Browns made today was very curious to me," Grossi said last week. "Nowhere in the announcement did they say Flacco is the starting quarterback for the season. They said for the opener. That stuck out to me.
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"I think it's intentionally vague. There's no quote from the coach. ... I think they're leaving the door open for Pickett to make a belated run at Flacco's job."

The Browns take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the season opener on Sept. 7.

Cleveland Browns Nation! Check out the latest Cleveland Browns Schedule and dive into the Browns Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra
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