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Joe Flacco looking to 'keep it day to day' as he adjusts to new life with Cleveland Browns
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- Joe Flacco looking to 'keep it day to day' as he adjusts to new life with Cleveland Browns
BEREA — Joe Flacco has seen plenty of Myles Garrett during his lengthy NFL career. That includes the 1.5 times the Browns All-Pro defensive end managed to sack the veteran quarterback.
So imagine Flacco's feelings when he finally saw Garrett coming toward him not as an opposing pass rusher, but as a new teammate this week with the Browns.
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"They always look a little bit more inviting and friendly when they're not in their uniform and helmet and shoulder pads," Flacco said Wednesday. "But yeah, he's a monster and he's had a hell of a year, so definitely good to be on the same side as him."
Flacco has technically signed with the Browns' practice squad. Officially, the only quarterbacks on the active roster are rookie starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson and former practice-squad-quarterback-turned-starter-turned-backup P.J. Walker .
However, it would defy some level of logic to bring in a quarterback as accomplished as the 16-year veteran Flacco just to stash him on the practice squad. While no one in the Browns organization will publicly state what the actual plan is for him, it would be stunning if he wasn't at least a gameday elevation this weekend when they travel to Denver to take on the Broncos.
New York Jets quarterback Joe Flacco throws the ball as Browns defensive end Myles Garrett hits him in the second quarter, Sept. 18, 2022, in Cleveland
The only thing Flacco knows for certain is that, after spending all season to this point waiting for a call from someone, he finally has his chance to get back in an NFL locker room. So, as far as role is concern, that's something to come at a later point.
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"I haven't really looked that much into it," Flacco said. "I want to take it day by day. Listen, I'm a veteran guy that's been around a lot. At this point in the season with a team that's doing well. So, I think there's a lot of different things that I can bring to the table. But I honestly just want to keep it day to day and focus on what I can. And right now, that's just kind of learning the offense and becoming a part of the team."
For the first two months of the season, Flacco's "team" consisted of his four sons and one daughter playing catch in his front yard in suburban Philadelphia. It was a far cry from the previous 15 years, 11 of which were spent winning a lot of games — as well as a Super Bowl — for the Baltimore Ravens .
After a year with the Broncos and the previous three with the New York Jets , Flacco was not brought in by a team for either its offseason program or its training camp. Even after several quarterbacks had gone down over the course of the first nine weeks of the season, the phone never rang for him.
While that would seem like a message to some that it was time to hang it up, it wasn't for Flacco. The 38-year-old is blunt about the reasons.
"To a certain extent, it's all I know," Flacco said. "I still have a lot of fun doing it. I do feel like I have stuff left in the tank, so I owe it to myself to continue to push forward and try to play the game that I love until I really don't feel like I can do it anymore."
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The Browns, apparently, don't believe Flacco's hit that point. He was the only quarterback they called to bring in for a workout after Deshaun Watson 's season-ending shoulder injury.
Flacco worked out on Friday and agreed to terms with the Browns on Sunday. He officially signed with on Monday, and found himself throwing to real NFL receivers on a practice field — not his five kids on his front lawn — on Wednesday.
"I think I have a lot of pride in myself and I think, very surprised at least early on and throughout the course of the offseason, but as the season kind of goes along, I think the surprise turns into other things and you're not necessarily surprised anymore," Flacco said. "And listen, I think also this is my 16th year in the locker room, you've seen a million things, so to be super surprised by something, you probably don't have your head in the right spot, you shouldn't be surprised by anything at this point."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Joe Flacco looking to 'keep it day to day' as he adjusts to Browns
