Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski shares surprising confession about Joe Flacco trade

Kevin Stefanski was surprised that the Cleveland Browns traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals for a fifth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) heads back to the huddle after offensive tackle KT Leveston (72) allowed a sack during the second half of an NFL football game at Huntington Bank Field, Sept. 21, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns surprised the NFL world when they traded Joe Flacco in the AFC North for a fifth-round pick.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Wednesday that the Cincinnati Bengals had reached out to them in order to pull off the trade. The Bengals were desperate after losing franchise quarterback Joe Burrow until December.

Stefanski stated that the team was taken by surprise, and definitely seemed shocked that the trade materialized.

“The Joe (Flacco) trade took us by surprise,” Stefanski said. “That was not something that we saw coming. They called us and it happened very fast and not too long ago."

Since the trade came as a surprise to everyone, Stefanski was not in a place to commit to a backup quarterback moving forward. While the expectation is that rookie fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders will be the backup, Stefanski was not in a place to make any announcements about their depth chart.

“I want to make sure that I’m always doing what’s best for our players,” Stefanski said. “I’ll let the week play out and make a decision later on that.”

Once the Browns made the switch to third-round quarterback Dillon Gabriel, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport explained that the expectation remains that the Browns will take a look at Sanders this season. However, as Stefanski stated, the team wants to put him in the best position possible by giving him a full week of preparation and a gameplan that best suits his skillset.

Stefanski being surprised by the trade does not showcase any sort of disconnect between the coaching staff and general manager Andrew Berry. Instead, it showcases that they believed in Flacco as the backup quarterback and were surprised to get a trade offer for the player that they just benched because of poor performance.

Flacco was 1-3 with the Browns. The only victory came against the Green Bay Packers, but the Browns won the game in spite of Flacco, not because of him. Ironically, Flacco will start on Sunday for the Bengals against the Packers.

Cleveland was given impressive trade grades for being able to get anything back out of Flacco. At 40 years old, he certainly looks like a player closer to retirement than winning games in the NFL. 

However, with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as top receiving options in Cincinnati, Flacco has one more chance to turn back the clock and make Stefanski and Berry regret moving on from him.