Joe Flacco Doesn't Have 'Any Expectation' for Browns' QB1 Battle amid NFL Draft Rumors

Joe Flacco wants to be the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback, but he doesn't expect it to be handed to him.

"I don't think there's any expectation of exactly who's gonna be the starting quarterback," Flacco said during a Wednesday interview on ESPN Cleveland (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). 

"So, you know, I'm excited to get in that room and go show that I have a lot of football ahead of me and kind of become part of the team and do my best to prove all those things. Just like you always would when you kind of come into a new situation and wanna be the guy."

At this point, the depth chart is Flacco and Kenny Pickett with Deshaun Watson sidelined by another ruptured Achilles.

Yet that could change if the Browns select a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick of the NFL draft. They have been linked to Shedeur Sanders at times in the predraft process, but momentum seems to be trending away from the signal-caller position as the draft approaches.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected Cleveland to take Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter at No. 2 in its latest mock draft.

The Browns could target a second-tier quarterback in the latter rounds to provide more depth, but there likely wouldn't be the same starting expectations as there would be if Sanders or someone else came in at No. 2.

That could clear the way for a competition between Pickett and Flacco.

The 40-year-old Flacco played for Cleveland during the 2023 season and helped lead it to the playoffs by going 4-1 as a starter down the stretch. While the Browns were blown out by the Houston Texans when they reached the postseason, it was still an impressive run for Flacco considering he wasn't even on the team at the start of the year.

Perhaps some lingering goodwill from that run will help him compete for a starting role this time around, but he knows he has to earn his spot.