10:50pm: Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports the Flacco deal will pay out $6MM if he operates as the Browns’ starter and the team does not reach the playoffs. A starting gig which does produce a postseason berth, meanwhile, will see him earn $8MM. Flacco would need to earn first-team All-Pro honors to achieve the maximum $13MM, an entirely unrealistic scenario for the zero-time Pro Bowler. If he can duplicate the success of his first Cleveland stint, though, Flacco can notably add to his career earnings.
8:02am: Joe Flacco will return to Cleveland for 2025. The 40-year-old quarterback has an agreement in place with the Browns, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The move is now official.
This will be a one-year deal with a base value of $4MM, per Flacco’s agency. The pact can be worth up to $13MM thanks to incentives. After taking over starting duties late in the 2023 campaign, the former Super Bowl MVP will now return to the Browns as they continue to sort out their quarterback situation.
Deshaun Watson‘s second Achilles tear threatens to keep him sidelined for the entire 2025 campaign. As a result, the Browns have been active in pursuing veteran help under center, trading for former Steelers first-rounder Kenny Pickett earlier this offseason. More moves were expected, although signs pointed against the No. 2 pick in this month’s draft being devoted to a signal-caller. This deal represents another indication that will be the case.
Flacco’s time atop the depth chart with the Ravens ended with a knee injury midway through the 2018 campaign. Then-rookie Lamar Jackson replaced him in the lineup and has remained the starter ever since. After the season, Flacco was dealt to the Broncos, although his one-and-done Denver campaign did not go according to plan. The former first-rounder then saw time with the Jets and Eagles, making nine starts between 2020-22.
Uncertainty loomed over Flacco’s NFL future, but the Browns represented an opportunity to continue his career once Watson went down in 2023. The Delaware product was initially brought in as veteran insurance, but he quickly locked down the QB1 gig and helped lead Cleveland to the playoffs. Flacco averaged 323 yards per game and threw 13 touchdown passes in five regular season games, but interceptions proved to be a problem then and in the team’s wild-card loss to the Texans.
Flacco preferred to remain with the Browns for 2024, but he wound up taking a one-year Colts…