BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Joe Flacco tormented the Browns for years as a Baltimore Raven.
Now he comes off the couch to try and help Cleveland’s rookie quarterback and provide an insurance policy.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from Flacco’s media debut on a cold, wet November day.
Flacco-DTR dynamic – The moment the Browns, who are 7-3, in second place in the AFC North and a half game out of the No. 1 seed in the conference, signed Joe Flacco to the practice squad the question of how long before he starts hit social media and radio talk shows almost immediately. “I definitely believe I can still play,” Flacco said Wednesday. “I think that whatever my role ends up being and wherever this takes me, then I'll do my best at that.” Head coach Kevin Stefanski and the organization have been vague as to what specific role Flacco will play. Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will start this week at Denver but who the No. 2 QB will be is unknown and Stefanski won’t say yet. One thing Stefanski made clear is that he doesn’t want Thompson-Robinson looking over his shoulder. “Honestly, Dorian needs to focus on his job,” Stefanski said. “That's what he's done his whole time he's been here. He's done a great job. We had a spot in the room, we had to add a quarterback. I think we added a guy with great experience who fits in really well in that room. But as far as it relates to Dorian's preparation, nothing changes.” Thompson-Robinson led the Browns to a last second victory over the Steelers Sunday and isn’t sweating the presence of the former Super Bowl MVP and 16-year veteran. “It's awesome,” Thompson-Robinson said. “Anytime you can add experience, which is something as a rookie you need, it's a great thing. So him, P.J., AVP, Ashton, everybody in the quarterback room, they're helping me out a ton. He just got here. He's still learning away around the city, so I'm trying to help him out with that, but he's definitely helping me out on the football side of things for sure.” Flacco, who has won nine games at Browns Stadium in his career, looked comfortable wearing a Browns hoodie after tormenting them for years. “I think it would probably be a little bit different if I was coming here four or five years ago, but having bounced around a few spots now, it's probably not quite as different,” Flacco said. “Teams change so much from year to year in this league. Coaches change, organizations change, so when you look back on it, it's really, they're so separate that there's probably a little bit of strangeness to it.” Why on earth would Flacco leave his comfortable couch to come throw in the cold November rain in Cleveland? “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.”
Mile High club – It’s one thing to deal with crowd noise on the road, it’s another to handle high altitude. For years the Broncos have used their elevation to their advantage but the Browns seem prepared. “It's kind of one of those things where you just got to be in shape all year, no matter where you play, you're going to be tired no matter what,” linebacker Sionne Takitaki said. “So staying in shape, that's the thing. Hydration, doing all the right things leading up to it, but I would say no different than any other game. A little more altitude, but just being in shape to be honest.” The elevation of Denver – 5,280 – is painted outside the visitor’s locker room on the way to the field as an intimidation tactic. “Every team that goes into their building talks about that,” Stefanski said. “There are things that you can do during the week to prepare yourself, there's things that you can do during the game to prepare yourself, but we also have guys that have played there both as a visitor and played there as being a Bronco, so we have insight into that as well.” The Browns have won just four times in the Mile High city but Thompson-Robinson doesn’t fear the altitude thanks to college. “I played down in Boulder playing UC, so I've played down there plenty of times,” Thompson-Robinson said. “But I think just getting in the altitude room, getting some extra conditioning after practice, just kind of taking it upon yourself to make sure that you're in shaped.”
Road trippin’ – One of the first things Flacco noticed upon his arrival is how close the Browns locker room is. It appears that Stefanski’s decision to begin training camp at The Greenbrier, which cost a few million to pull off, in West Virginia is paying off. “Part of that is wherever you go and you're under one roof, it's very organic to come together and hang out,” Stefanski said. “You know my experience at the Vikings all those years went away to Mankato, which was an hour away and you were under one roof. Gage Hall was a dormitory, no longer standing. But I just think there was a shared group of guys in one place. So I think from that perspective, it's a way of getting guys to hang out with each other when it's hard to do when you're jumping in the car and you're heading home after practice.” Multiple players credit their time in West Virginia for building such a close-knit team. “Going out there was a smart thing that the team did for us to kind of bond, helps us out later on in the season,” Takitaki said. “But yeah, man, this team has definitely been close, especially being resilient these last few games, just kind of getting a little closer and pushing each other along.” They’ll get to do something similar next week. Following their game in Denver the Browns will fly to Los Angeles and spend the week practicing at UCLA before their game against the Rams December 3. “I know guys aren't really looking forward to staying in a hotel for a week, but no, I think it'd be really cool, really fun,” Thompson-Robinson said. “Again, just getting everybody close in one space at one time, especially for a longer period of time, I think it would be really healthy for the team.”
Designated to return – The Browns designated linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk for return from injured reserve Wednesday. Kunaszyk is in his fifth NFL season out of California. He appeared in 15 games with two starts last season with the Browns and led the team with 11 special teams tackles. Kunaszyk was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on Aug. 31. In addition, the team signed safety Duron Harmon to the practice squad.
Sportsman of the year – Left guard Joel Bitonio was named the Browns nominee for the 2023 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
Injury report – DNP: S Grant Delpit (thigh), WR Marquise Goodwin (concussion), S Juan Thornhill (calf), LB Anthony Walker (hamstring), CB Denzel Ward (shoulder), DE Myles Garrett (rest/ankle), LG Joel Bitonio (rest/knee), TE David Njoku (rest/knee), WR Amari Cooper (rest), DE Za’Darius Smith (rest), DT Dalvin Tomlinson (rest); LIMITED: LB Matthew Adams (knee), RG Wyatt Teller (ankle), RT Dawand Jones (knee), LB Jordan Kunaszyk (knee), CB Greg Newsome II (calf), Ogbo Okoronkwo (groin), CB Mike Ford Jr. (thumb/ribs)
