Longtime Cleveland Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported on Thursday that the New England Patriots may be interested in 39-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco this summer.
“I’m hearing the Patriots are interested in possibly signing Flacco as a bridge starter to help mentor a rookie quarterback if they select one at No. 3 overall, such as North Carolina’s Drake Maye,” Cabot stated in an email.
In his five games as the starter, Flacco completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, earning him the Comeback Player of the Year award. After an injury sidelined Deshaun Watson, Flacco led the Browns to the playoffs after helping them finish the 2023 regular season with a 4-1 record.
While it may seem unexpected that a rebuilding team would want to sign a player nearing the age of 40, it makes a lot of sense. When the Patriots selected Mac Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Alabama product began immediately. While he was successful in his debut year, his performance gradually deteriorated, ending in a dismal 2023 season that saw him benched in many games.
In order to avoid a similar issue, New England should attempt to emulate the Green Bay Packers’ strategy. The Packers appear to have hit on every quarterback they’ve drafted in recent years, enabling the newly drafted QB to spend some time on the bench learning from an older veteran before seeing any serious playing time.
In Green Bay’s most recent occurrence, Jordan Love spent his first two seasons on the bench behind Aaron Rodgers. When Love took over the starting job this year, he looked great, throwing for 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns against only 11 interceptions. Prior to Love, Rodgers spent time on the sidelines learning from Hall of Famer Brett Favre.
With the No. 3 choice in the next draft, the Patriots might look to draft a future franchise quarterback, such as Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels, and have them sit and learn under Flacco for the season.
With a new coaching staff in New England, Flacco has links to Alex Van Pelt, the Patriots’ new offensive coordinator. Van Pelt worked with Flacco last season in Cleveland and was pleased with the results.
