The Cleveland Browns nearly pulled off a surprising upset of the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, but a couple of mistakes late in the game ultimately resulted in them suffering a 17-16 loss. Now, they will take on another division rival in Week 2, as they have a matchup with the Baltimore Ravens on their hands.
For Joe Flacco, this will be an opportunity for him to hand his old team a shocking loss. However, he’s going to have his work cut out for him when it comes to outdueling Lamar Jackson, whom he helped mentor during his rookie season in 2018. And while their time together was limited, it’s clear that Flacco had a big impact on Jackson and his development, which is something that should stick out to Cleveland’s rookie quarterbacks, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Why Lamar Jackson’s Comments About Joe Flacco Are So Important
When Jackson was selected with the No. 32 overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the writing was on the wall for Flacco in Baltimore. Anytime one guy knows he’s on the verge of losing his job, that can create an interesting internal dynamic, and some folks worried that Flacco and Jackson wouldn’t have a good working relationship. As it turns out, the opposite was true, as Flacco helped Jackson out quite a bit during his rookie season.
Flacco finds himself in an eerily similar situation in 2025. He holds the Browns‘ starting quarterback job for now, but it’s clear that Cleveland has long-term plans for Gabriel and Sanders that could begin to take shape later this season. When speaking about Flacco, though, it’s clear that Jackson provided the proper frame of mind that the two rookies should be looking to employ during the current campaign.
Rather than viewing Flacco as a roadblock to starting snaps, Jackson was simply looking to soak up as much knowledge as he could behind the scenes. That immediately paid off for him because when he fully took over the starting job in 2019, he immediately won an MVP Award. That mindset should be exactly what Gabriel and Sanders are looking to replicate, as Jackson focused on himself rather than the outside noise surrounding him.
“To be honest, I really didn’t think much of it, just because I was trying to learn as much as I could my rookie year,” Jackson said of his relationship with Flacco in 2018. “I wasn’t looking to be out there, actually. I can’t speak for Flac, but I was cool. I feel like we had a great relationship.”
Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders Should Use Joe Flacco as a Mentor
Getty ImagesCleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco.
While there was a lot of noise surrounding Jackson’s arrival in Baltimore in 2018, there’s been even more noise surrounding Gabriel and Sanders in Cleveland this year. That has put them in a bit of an odd situation as they compete with each other while sitting behind Flacco, but if they approach the situation with the right mindset, it could benefit them in the long run.
Flacco is in his 18th NFL season, and as a former Super Bowl champion, he knows what it takes to win at the highest level in this league. If Gabriel and Sanders embrace their respective developments, rather than simply trying to get on the field, that could help them out the most in the long run, even though they would likely much rather get their first taste of the pros sooner rather than later.
Browns Rookie QBs Could Learn from Lamar Jackson’s Joe Flacco Comments