{"id":199428,"date":"2025-07-11T18:27:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T18:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/199428\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T18:27:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T18:27:14","slug":"from-hated-rival-to-clevelands-beloved-dad-how-joe-flacco-found-his-joy-with-the-browns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/199428\/","title":{"rendered":"From hated rival to Cleveland\u2019s beloved dad: How Joe Flacco found his joy with the Browns"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Joe Flacco\u2019s journey from Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl MVP to the Cleveland Browns<\/a>\u2019 beloved veteran quarterback might be one of the most unexpected storylines in recent NFL memory. What makes it even more remarkable is the genuine joy Flacco has found in Cleveland \u2014 perhaps more than at any previous stop in his storied career.<\/p>\n

During a recent episode of Orange and Brown Talk podcast<\/a>, Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot observed this transformation firsthand: \u201cThe funny thing about Joe is I think that he\u2019s probably been happier here in Cleveland than he has in most of his other stops and most of his other years in football.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sentiment seems almost unbelievable considering Flacco\u2019s history. This is a quarterback who won a Super Bowl with Baltimore, spent a decade as Cleveland\u2019s division rival, and once represented everything Browns fans despised. Yet somehow, Flacco and Cleveland have developed a mutual admiration that feels destined for a sports movie adaptation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis fan base still has Flacco fever,\u201d noted Browns beat reporter Ashley Bastock on the podcast. \u201cI think so many people were, fan-wise, not happy that the Browns did not try to bring Joe Flacco back in 2024. People fell in love with Joe Flacco, which is crazy when you consider the history and how he was just one of those quarterbacks that owned the Browns for a lengthy period of time post \u201999 because he was in their division.\u201d<\/p>\n

What explains this unlikely romance between a former rival and a fanbase known for its passionate (and sometimes painful) loyalty? Part of it seems to be the perspective Flacco gained when football was nearly taken from him. Before the Browns called in 2023, Flacco sat unsigned, watching his NFL career potentially fade away.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was shocked then that nobody had called him up until that point,\u201d Bastock explained. \u201cI think that experience gave him this appreciation for being in this environment and being around the guys, and it\u2019s why he does things … like in 2023, when he was here, guys talked about being shocked almost that he went out with them in L.A. to a team dinner. He basically just got there. He went to Wyatt Teller\u2019s son\u2019s first birthday party.\u201d<\/p>\n

That near-retirement experience transformed Flacco\u2019s approach to the game and his teammates. The quarterback who once seemed stoic and businesslike in Baltimore now embraces the paternal role in Cleveland\u2019s locker room, particularly with rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most interesting things to watch about Joe Flacco in this camp is the way that Shedeur Sanders has sort of taken him on in the Papa role,\u201d Cabot shared. \u201cAnd it\u2019s just been kind of funny to watch because Shedeur is sort of bringing out the kid in Joe Flacco, trying to make him dance. And I think Joe\u2019s tossing his head back and laughing and having fun with this whole experience and it reminds him of being with his own kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Host Dan Labbe pondered what makes this scenario so special: \u201cThere\u2019s just something about this scenario that makes Joe happy. And maybe it\u2019s because him and Kevin Stefanski sit around talking about the Jersey Shore or something, I don\u2019t know. But something about Joe Flacco, he really enjoys being a member of the Cleveland Browns.\u201d<\/p>\n

This renaissance feels particularly poignant because of how unceremoniously Flacco\u2019s time in Baltimore ended. After drafting Lamar Jackson, the Ravens moved on from their Super Bowl-winning quarterback, sending him to Denver where success eluded him. Subsequent stops with the Jets and Colts saw him relegated to backup duties.<\/p>\n

In Cleveland, however, Flacco found not just playing time but a genuine connection. His stunning late-season performance in 2023 captivated the city, transforming Flacco from a name Browns fans cursed to one they cheered. As Bastock put it, the relationship is \u201ctruly the stuff of a sports movie, in my opinion, like reality being stranger than fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether or not Flacco wins the starting job in 2025, his Cleveland chapter has already become something special \u2014 a reminder that in sports, as in life, sometimes the most meaningful stories come when we least expect them, from the places we\u2019d least imagine.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the podcast for this week:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Listen and subscribe to the Orange and Brown Talk podcast on Apple Podcasts<\/a> and Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial<\/a> of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.<\/p>\n

Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from the Cleveland Orange and Brown Talk Podcast by cleveland.com. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions.<\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Joe Flacco\u2019s journey from Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl MVP to the Cleveland Browns\u2019 beloved veteran…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[29284,7],"class_list":{"0":"post-199428","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-cleveland-browns-veterans-minicamp-2025","9":"tag-football"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114836016037674246","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}