After leaving the Jets, Joe Flacco is glad to be back with the Browns.
Joe Flacco, the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, has no ill will toward the New York Jets, whom waived him during the 2018 season and did not re-sign him when Aaron Rodgers had an Achilles injury in the opening game of this campaign.
On Thursday night, Flacco and the Browns take on the Jets in an attempt to secure the team’s first postseason trip since 2020.
After playing with the Jets for portions of three seasons, Flacco said, “I enjoyed my time there and it remains what it is.” “I’m happy to be wherever I am, that’s for sure.”
For the Browns, Flacco has appeared in the last four games, winning three of them. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Cleveland (10-5) is the only team ranked as the fifth seed in the playoff picture, with a greater than 99% chance of making the postseason.
Flacco has passed for 1,307 yards more than any other NFL quarterback in the last four weeks.
Additionally, he has thrown 10 touchdown passes, which ties him for the most in that time with Brock Purdy of the 49ers of San Francisco and Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams.
This season, Flacco remained unsigned till Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson sustained a shoulder injury that ended his season.
On November 17, Flacco had his workout with the Browns, and three days later, he was signed to their practice squad.
Flacco started four games for the Jets last season, including a Week 2 victory at Cleveland by a score of 31 to 30.
In that game, Flacco pulled off an incredible comeback that he called the “craziest finish” to his career with four touchdown passes, two of which came in the last two minutes of play.
However, he wouldn’t toss another touchdown until he signed with the Browns this season, since Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in 2021, was starting at quarterback for New York.
In Week 1, after the New York Jets’ season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills, quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained a horrific Achilles injury, head coach Robert Saleh had the option to re-sign veteran qb Joe Flacco to replace the four-time NFL MVP.
As a backup to quarterbacks Mike White and Josh Johnson in 2021, Zach Wilson in 2022, and Sam Darnold in 2020, Flacco played for the Jets for the better part of three seasons.
Flacco participated in 12 games during that period, throwing for 2,253 yards, 14 scores, and 6 interceptions.
But Saleh chose to start Wilson, with Trevor Siemian & Brett Rypien serving as the team’s backup signal-callers, rather than calling for Flacco to make a possible comeback to The Big Apple.
When asked why the team didn’t re-sign Flacco, Saleh replied it was just a “decision” based on plans that had previously been established before the season began.
To secure a postseason berth for the first time in three years, the Jets take on the Flacco-led Cleveland Browns on Thursday.
Flacco told reporters of Tuesday that he is excited about his present opportunity in Cleveland, even though he enjoyed his stint with the Jets.
Since starting quarterback Joe Flacco, the Browns of Cleveland have become a completely different squad. With their victory on Sunday, the Browns won three straight games, and Amari Cooper had a memorable day.
Cooper caught 11 catches resulting in a career-high 265 receiving yards, a Browns record, when Flacco threw him the ball. Additionally, he caught two touchdowns in Cleveland’s 36-22 victory.
Cooper reached 1,000 yards for the seventh time for his career during the thrilling contest, and he currently sits sixth in the NFL in receiving yards. Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback for the New York Jets, appears to be one of his fans.
Although Rodgers and Flacco are not friends, he is pleased to see another veteran quarterback establishing himself in the NFL.
This Thursday, when the Browns & Jets square off, Rodgers gave Cleveland some credit and complimented Flacco and Cooper.
On the Pat McAfee Show, Aaron Rodgers remarked, “Joe Flacco has always been an excellent deep ball thrower, and I’m happy for him.” “I’ve consistently been a fan of Amari Cooper, and he was amazing on Sunday.”