Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco recently signed with one of his former teams, the Cleveland Browns. Flacco led the Browns to the playoffs in 2023 before splitting time with Anthony Richardson for the Indianapolis Colts last season.
In a recent interview with The Baltimore Sun, however, Flacco revealed that he’d also been contacted by another of his former teams this offseason.
Joe Flacco Was Contacted by Baltimore — ‘I Would’ve Been Excited’
Flacco is back in Cleveland ahead of the 2025 NFL season, but his history with the team’s AFC North rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, will live on forever. Flacco spent 11 years in Baltimore after being drafted 18th overall by the team in 2008. He was the team’s starting quarterback until being replaced by Lamar Jackson following Week 9 of the 2018 season.
During the interview with The Baltimore Sun, Flacco revealed that the Ravens had contacted his agent earlier in the offseason. The veteran had been without a team since the expiry of his one-year deal with the Colts, and the Ravens were interested in signing him to back up the player who replaced him almost seven years ago.
“They did kind of reach out to [my agent] Joe [Linta], gauging my interest for something like that to happen. My agent called me up and was like, ‘What do you want me to tell them?’
“I’m like, ‘Well, listen, I’m interested. I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s not like choice No. 1, I don’t know what’s going to happen here with me if I’m going to get an opportunity to do something a little bit more, but I wasn’t against it.’ I think I would’ve been excited about it in a little bit of a way.”
Joe Flacco told @MikePrestonSun that he had a brief conversation about returning to the Ravens this offseason.
"They did kind of reach out to [my agent] Joe gauging my interest for something like that to happen. My agent called me up and was like, ‘What do you want me to tell… pic.twitter.com/tVabzpzsUz
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison)
Flacco To Spend 2025 Season in Cleveland
Despite his Super Bowl-winning history with the Ravens, Flacco held out for a better starting opportunity. He found exactly that in the Browns, whose starting role in 2025 remains up for grabs.
Cleveland had made a move to acquire former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles earlier in the offseason. Pickett was expected to provide a veteran presence while the team’s incoming rookie found his feet.
As the draft drew closer, though, murmurs of the Browns planning to pass on a quarterback began to surface. Those murmurs became louder after the team signed Flacco with just under two weeks to go before the big event in Green Bay, Wisc. It’s commonplace to bring in a veteran quarterback to help a rookie settle, but signing two veterans does raise questions.
It remains to be seen what the Browns will do in the 2025 NFL Draft, but it wouldn’t come as a total shock to see Flacco starting for the team again come September.
