It will take a lot to surprise veteran quarterback Joe Flacco at this stage of his career.
Flacco, 41, is preparing for his 19th season in the NFL and second with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2026. Last year, the Super Bowl 47 MVP shared the Cleveland Browns‘ quarterbacks room with then-rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, two guys more than 15 years younger than Flacco.
Asked about the notable age gap, Flacco said the situation did not feel unique.
“It was no different than any other quarterback room that I’ve been a part of,” Flacco said in an interview. “I usually have good relationships with those guys, and this was no other. This was no different than that. It was a group of guys, kind of working towards the common goal, but at the same time competing and trying to make each other better, and trying to come out on top of that whole thing.
“It’s probably a little bit different than it was 15 years ago, just because I am the old guy in the room and all that. But at the end of the day, after you’ve been with each other for a little bit of time, even the age gap and all that stuff isn’t that big of a deal.”
Flacco only shared the quarterback room with Sanders and Gabriel for the preseason last year and five weeks of the regular season. He won one game with Cleveland in four games in his second stint with the team before he was benched in favor of Gabriel ahead of Week 5. The Browns traded the veteran to the Bengals before Week 6.
Gabriel made six starts for the Browns as a rookie before suffering a concussion. The injury opened the door for Sanders to get a crack at the starting job, which he held onto from Week 12 until the end of the season last year. Sanders was controversially named to the AFC Pro Bowl team last year as an injury replacement despite a lackluster performance in his eight appearances (seven starts).
This year, Sanders is battling veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson for the Browns’ starting job to begin the 2026 season. Gabriel appears destined for the third spot on the quarterback depth chart in his second season in Cleveland, barring a trade to another team more in need of help at the position.
Meanwhile, Flacco started six games for Cincinnati filling in for the injured Joe Burrow in 2025. He signed a one-year, $6 million deal to stay with the Bengals for the 2026 season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Flacco has tame take on sharing Browns’ QB room with Shedeur Sanders
