Joe Flacco’s Reaction in Preseason Game Resurfaces After Browns Name Starting QB

The job was always his to lose.

The Browns have officially named Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback for Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Browns will kick off their 2025 NFL season with Joe Flacco under center, the team announced Monday afternoon.

Flacco, 40, will get the start in Week 1 against the Bengals on Sept. 7 following a months-long quarterback battle with Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Flacco getting tabbed as Cleveland's starter nonetheless came as little surprise after he sat out of the Browns' last two preseason games, likely out of caution.

In the Browns' second preseason matchup on August 8, Sanders got the start while the rest of the team's quarterbacks sat on the sidelines. When the Colorado product shone in the spotlight with 138 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, cameras caught the other Browns quarterbacks' reactions on the bench, and it was quite telling.

Gabriel and Deshaun Watson watched Sanders's outing with unmoved and slightly glum expressions, but Flacco was beaming from ear to ear.

The vet clearly looked happy for Sanders in what was the 23-year-old's pro debut playing with the first-stringers:

Hmmm…one guy smiling after two guys…. pic.twitter.com/lxFDSRkCiN

— Content Browns (Multiyear Time Horizon Content) (@TheKardiac_Kid) August 9, 2025

Weeks ago, Flacco sure seemed confident his starting job was safe. Monday's news only confirms that fact.

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