The Denver Broncos made the mistake of retread quarterbacks for years, and one of their former QBs is in line to start for a new team years later.
After the 2015 NFL Season, their Super Bowl 50 victory, the Broncos clearly had no long-term QB solution in place, and they fell into the abyss of trying (and failing) with a slew of veteran quarterbacks and even some in the NFL Draft.
The list is almost too painful to write out, so we won't. Well, one of their former QBs is Joe Flacco. He had a short stint for the Denver Broncos in the 2019 NFL Season. Six years later, not only is Flacco one of the oldest quarterbacks in the NFL, but he seems to be a heavy favorite to actually start for the Browns this year.
Joe Flacco seems to be the heavy favorite to start for the Cleveland Browns
Here is Zac Jackson of The Athletic on the Browns QB situation with Flacco:
""Flacco is the best pure thrower of the four-man quarterback group, even at 40, but it’s his steadiness and experience that make him such a valuable addition right now. Flacco both mastered the offense quickly and earned the respect of the locker room during his 2023 stint with Cleveland. It was clear this spring that players, young and old, can lean on Flacco as the Browns go about the business of trying to fix their broken offense."Zac Jackson
From the 2020-2024 seasons , the years after Flacco left the Denver Broncos, he was actually not too bad. He threw for 39 touchdowns against 21 interceptions for a respectable 86.4 passer rating.
Flacco hasn't started more than six games in a season since that 2019 campaign with the Broncos, but he's actually gotten a bit better with age. You would have to think that the 2025 NFL Season is the last for Joe Flacco, right?
He actually has a good bit of playoff success, but former Broncos GM John Elway took a pretty bold (and bad) risk when he traded for Flacco six years ago. Other former QBs like Drew Lock and Russell Wilson are also still hanging around. Lock is the backup for the Seattle Seahawks, and even Russell Wilson is in line to start for the New York Giants.
Denver fortunately found themselves on the right side of the QB mess after cutting Russell Wilson following the 2023 NFL Season, but it's clear that a few teams ac