The Cleveland Browns appeared like they could be straying away from selecting a quarterback in this year's draft when they signed Joe Flacco last week. With Flacco joining a Browns quarterback room already featuring Kenny Pickett, Cleveland seemed like they could have been taking a bridge quarterback approach, relying on multiple veterans for a season or two rather than look for their franchise QB.
The Browns could still take that approach and not draft a quarterback, but general manager Andrew Berry made it clear Thursday that signing Flacco does not affect whether they draft a quarterback or not.
"We wouldn't consider signing Joe as having any real impact on how we would view taking a quarterback in the draft," Berry said. "We firmly believe that it's not about picking a player who's ready to contribute now, it's about trying to find a player that you think is going to be the best, if you have access to that player. Think about Patrick Mahomes sat his whole first year. Josh Allen, it really took until Year 3 for him to become Josh Allen. Lamar probably hit the ground running pretty quickly. Jalen Hurts, there were doubts about him until he probably hit Year 3. Quarterbacks mature and grow at their own pace and our thought isn't in terms of immediacy, but making the best long-term bet."
For his part, Flacco is not expecting to be the Browns' starter after signing with the team.
"I don't think there's any expectation of exactly who's going to be the starting quarterback," Flacco said, via ESPN Cleveland. "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 become part of the team and do my best to prove all those things."
Even so, the Browns will not force themselves to draft a quarterback this year—or any prospect for that matter.
"We want to have long-term players across the roster," Berry said. "We're not going to necessarily force something if we don't think the value's right or anything along those lines. We want to be thoughtful and disciplined in our decision-making."
Given the Browns' track record of drafting quarterbacks, it's certainly wise for the team not to make themselves pick a quarterback, and have a couple of veterans available.
