Andrew Berry Explains Browns’ Winston Over Flacco Decision
Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Despite last year’s Cinderella run, the Browns decided to let Joe Flacco walk to the Colts in free agency. Taking Flacco’s place as Deshaun Watson’s backup will be 2015 first overall pick Jameis Winston, who will be entering his tenth NFL season. He spent his first five years in Tampa Bay as the starter and the last four seasons in New Orleans as a backup.
The news that Flacco would walk as a free agent caught him a bit off guard.
#Colts QB Joe Flacco said he was "a little bit" surprised to not remain with the #Browns but not shocked. He understands this is a business and is excited to be in Indy.
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) March 22, 2024
In a recent radio interview, Browns GM Andrew Berry explained the team’s decision to sign Winston over Flacco.
“We’ve taken everything into account,” Berry said in an interview with 92.3 The Fan’s Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima. “Performance, age, cost, you know, all those things come into play. I think I think you know, Joe’s an excellent quarterback, Jameis is an excellent quarterback. Jameis made the most sense for us in the mosaic of all the roster moves we made this offseason.”
Last season, Flacco gave Browns fans some of their most memorable football of recent memory. In five regular season starts, he threw for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns, 8 interceptions. Flacco’s robust, out-of-nowhere performance near the end of 2023 led to him being named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year.
Unfortunately, this all culminated in a forgettable performance in the AFC Wild Card round against the Texans, who walloped the Browns by a final score of 45-14. Flacco threw two consecutive pick sixes in the third quarter, which were ultimately the deciding factor in the longtime QB’s first career loss in the Wild Card round.
“I think I was so fortunate to become a part of this team,” Flacco said after the loss. “And I know a lot of people can say that, but it really is. To be given a chance to do this with those guys, I’m super grateful for it.”
Despite Flacco’s rough playoff performance, it was not why Cleveland didn’t bring him back in 2024.
“We don’t really overreact to any individual performance,” Berry said to Lima in the same interview. “If that was the case, then we would throw out our entire defense, just because we didn’t put our best foot forward. So we wouldn’t overreact. Joe played really great football for us last year.”
Jameis Winston will backup Deshaun Watson, who is coming off of shoulder surgery. Winston’s experience with overcoming an up-and-down career and past character issues will be critical as Watson, who has extensively dealt with both since leaving Houston, looks to revive his career.
As for Flacco, his run near the end of 2023 showed that he still has some gas left in the tank. His performance helped him quickly land a job with the Colts, as opposed to last year where he began the season as a free agent. Flacco will take on the backup role in Indy and provide veteran leadership as Anthony Richardson enters his second season in the NFL.
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