“What I hope will happen is that Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett will not win any games for the Cleveland Browns,” Warren Sharp didn’t simply whisper. He said it out loud for everyone to listen and pay attention. Not out of hate, but just out of logic. According to Sharp, the Browns should tear off the Band-Aid and start using their rookies. And he’s not alone either. More and more supporters and commentators are calling on Cleveland to put aside its nostalgia and begin planning for 2026 now. That brings us to Flacco. The Super Bowl MVP who moonlighted as a Browns savior last year might just be prepping for his final NFL act. 

According to a CBS Sports report, Flacco is one of ten NFL players who are expected to retire following the 2025 season. After a brief stint with the Colts, he agreed to a one-year contract to return to Cleveland. The 40-year-old quarterback is the second-oldest in the league behind Aaron Rodgers. Yes, he could begin the year as the Browns’ starter. But depending on the outcome of the Browns’ quarterback lab experiment, that window may close quickly. As Kenny Pickett is attempting to rebrand, Dillon Gabriel is learning on the spot, and Shedeur Sanders is attempting to break out of the QB4 dungeon.

Still, Flacco brought order to chaos last season. He dropped 12 touchdowns and over 1,700 yards in just five starts, dragging the Browns into the playoffs. But if this season doesn’t end in a miracle, Flacco reportedly isn’t expected to shop himself as a backup in 2026. But, “If he’s no longer interested in being a backup, playing through your age-40 season would be a natural cutoff point,” CBS Sports wrote. 

He hasn’t started a full slate since 2017. And he is just signed through this season, so it’s obvious that he doesn’t fit the Browns’ long-term strategy. According to CBS, “Flacco is not a long-term option for the Browns and is only signed through this upcoming season.” Prediction: Flacco will retire after 2025. But while Flacco’s exit may be a slow fade, one quarterback’s situation is already radioactive.

For now, Joe Flacco’s in, but someone’s out

Deshaun Watson. From $230 million guaranteed to quarterback rehab coach, Watson’s fall in Cleveland has been both public and painful. The injury, the off-field noise, and now the quiet exile. He’s technically still on the roster, but not in the plans. Per Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, “I really think the ship has sailed here for the most part for Deshaun Watson. Don’t envision him playing this season.” And if he’s still on the team in 2026? “It’s going to be a long shot even next season if he’s still on the roster.”

Even Garrett Bush of The Barbershop Podcast spelled it out. “They done reached out to Deshaun Watson, said, ‘listen, we’re not going to get you up out of here, out of here’, out of here, out of here. What we’re going to do is you will put some things out, and you mentor and you get back in rehab and put some positivity and spin it.” And not to forget, this is still the same franchise that’s cycled through 36 quarterbacks since 1999. Kevin Stefanski’s tenure hasn’t exactly been immune despite a playoff appearance, and the QB carousel keeps spinning.

If the Browns want to escape that cycle, they’ll need to leap with someone new. And right now, the rookies aren’t being given a real runway. The outcome of this QB logjam could shape the next five years of Brown’s football. Whether Flacco walks away, Watson is quietly ghosted, or Stefanski finally lets a rookie rip – it’s clear the Browns are at a fork in the road.