Joe Flacco had plenty of solid reasons for re-signing with the Cleveland Browns this offseason.
His familiarity with the organization and Kevin Stefanski's offense was one. The camaraderie he formed with many of the players still on the roster was another. The opportunity to compete for a starting job is, of course, a key factor as well.
Mentoring a rookie quarterback, however, is not something he necessarily considered when he agreed to return to Northeast Ohio.
And yet, it's a role he may be confronted with as soon as this weekend. Cleveland is expected to select a rookie at some point during the NFL Draft. When it does, the young QB will arrive with a lot to learn about succeeding in the pros.
For Flacco, mentorship isn't something he feels he has to actively do. From his perspective, it's something that happens naturally.
"I don't think anybody ever really views themselves as a mentor, solely as a mentor," Flacco explained on Wednesday. "I think we all want to go out there and compete and play. I think if you're in the quarterback room for a day or two, you could probably understand that things like that naturally come up."
Just last year Flacco was in a similar situation as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. One year prior, the Colts used the No. 4 overall pick to select Florida Gators standout Anthony Richardson as their supposed QB of the future.
After a shoulder injury derailed his rookie campaign, Richardson returned in 2024 ready to reclaim the starting job with Flacco serving as a backup. The situation turned into a revolving door of a QB situation, with Flacco and Richardson rotating in and out of the starting spot on multiple occasions.
In Cleveland things should play out differently, with Flacco potentially earning the starting job and a rookie QB being able to watch and learn from a 17-year veteran when the season kicks off.
However it pans out, Flacco just plans on being himself and the "mentoring" will take care of itself.
"I've played a lot of football and I have a lot of different experiences and there's a certain way that I see it and there's a certain way I can talk about footwork and reads and those things," he explained. "And I think they naturally come up.
"I think when you just have a competitive, good quarterback room, you don't really have to worry about being a mentor. You do you and you compete and you have fun and conversations come up and everybody learns from it."
Stefanski feels the same way. From his perspective, building a good QB room will produce mentorship all on its own.
"I think guys showing up and doing their job is a great example for young players at all positions," the Browns head man said. "I can think, just on our team, some of the leaders maybe aren't the most vocal, but we tell those rookies like, 'Hey, go attach yourself to that guy,' maybe not literally, but see when he is getting in the building, see what he does when he gets on the field. What type of notes is he taking? What's his process before a game?"
As Stefanski explained, developing a young QB is about instilling in the player how to be a sponge. That'll be the expectation for whoever the Browns come away with in the draft this weekend.
"I think young players have to be really good observers of these veterans. And if the veterans are able to impart that knowledge explicitly, that's great, but I think there's so much you can pick up just by being a great observer in the building and out of the building as well."
