{"id":251429,"date":"2025-10-17T15:59:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T19:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=251429"},"modified":"2025-10-17T15:59:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T19:59:40","slug":"joe-flacco-the-unicorn-the-browns-let-go-and-the-media-buried-too-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/10\/17\/joe-flacco-the-unicorn-the-browns-let-go-and-the-media-buried-too-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Flacco: The Unicorn the Browns Let Go \u2014 and the Media Buried Too Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"

For weeks, most of Cleveland\u2019s media wrote him off.
\nThey said Joe Flacco was washed. Finished. Done.<\/p>\n

Except a few of us didn\u2019t buy it \u2014 and we were right.<\/p>\n

On Amazon Prime Video\u2019s Thursday Night Football, Joe Flacco turned back the clock, shredded a division rival, and proved he still belongs.<\/p>\n

Flacco completed 66 percent of his passes for 342 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, and posted a 108.6 QBR in a statement win over the Steelers. His composure and precision were everything the Browns have missed since letting him go.<\/p>\n

Even the broadcast booth couldn\u2019t believe it.
\nDuring the second quarter, analyst Kirk Herbstreit exclaimed:<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe Flacco is a unicorn! What is he doing out there?! \u2026 Ten days of knowing this offense!\u201d \u2014 Kirk Herbstreit, Amazon Prime Video TNF<\/p>\n

Play-by-play legend Al Michaels added early in the second half:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve known Flacco for years. Does anyone throw a prettier spiral?\u201d \u2014 Al Michaels, TNF broadcast<\/p>\n

At 40 years old, Flacco wasn\u2019t supposed to do this.<\/p>\n

But Thursday night, he did.<\/p>\n

Joe Flacco: The Unicorn the Browns Let Go \u2014 and the Media Buried Too Soon<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) is chased through the end zone by Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. The Bengals begin the season with a 17-16 win over the Browns.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Indictment of Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski<\/h3>\n

Flacco\u2019s resurgence isn\u2019t just a feel-good story \u2014 it\u2019s a direct indictment of GM Andrew Berry and Head Coach Kevin Stefanski.<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t just lose a quarterback; they lost a leader.<\/p>\n

Veteran Browns reporter Tony Grossi called it immediately:<\/p>\n

\u201cCertifiably the 2nd worst trade in Browns history.\u201d \u2014 @TonyGrossi, Oct 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Cleveland shipped Flacco for a fifth-round pick \u2014 the same price they once paid to dump Baker Mayfield.<\/p>\n

Even Stefanski admitted the move caught everyone off guard:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Joe (Flacco) trade took us all by surprise. They called us. So still working through all roster things. I have to be mindful of our players\u2019 development.\u201d \u2014 Kevin Stefanski, via @TonyGrossi, Oct 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

If \u201cmindful of development\u201d means trading your best and most experienced quarterback mid-season, then the process has gone completely off the rails.<\/p>\n

Flacco\u2019s Departure: Handled Like a Pro<\/h3>\n

According to Grossi, Flacco didn\u2019t request a trade. His agent Joe Linta told him:<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe loves Cleveland and understands what happened over the last four weeks. He has really cherished his time in Cleveland and looks forward to a new challenge in Cincinnati.\u201d \u2014 @TonyGrossi, Oct 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Linta added:<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe is like any kid in America who plays football. He would much rather be on the field than on the bench.\u201d \u2014 @TonyGrossi, Oct 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

That was Flacco in a nutshell \u2014 class, competitiveness, and quiet fire.<\/p>\n

Mike Tomlin Knew Flacco Wasn\u2019t Done<\/h3>\n

Even Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin recognized the mistake immediately.
\nWhen asked about the trade, Tomlin said sending Flacco to a division rival \u201cdoesn\u2019t make sense\u201d and was \u201cshocking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d Tomlin told reporters. \u201cIt was shocking to me. Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me \u2014 or us. The move makes sense for Cincinnati because Flacco still has that arm strength and accuracy. But a division trade like this is not logical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomlin knew what Berry and Stefanski ignored \u2014 Joe Flacco still had it.
\nSo did Tony Grossi \u2014 and a few of us who refused to accept the narrative that Flacco was finished.<\/p>\n

The Numbers Don\u2019t Lie<\/h3>\n

Grossi highlighted another stat that exposes the decision\u2019s madness:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Browns have had 41 quarterbacks start a game since 1999. Only three have regular-season winning records in games started and completed for the Browns.
\nCase Keenum: 2-0
\nBrian Hoyer: 9-6
\nJoe Flacco: 5-4.\u201d \u2014 @TonyGrossi, Oct 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Let that sink in \u2014 the only active QB with a winning record for Cleveland is the one they traded away.<\/p>\n

The Media Missed \u2014 Except Grossi and a Few Others<\/h3>\n

While many local voices mocked the move, Grossi and I saw it for what it was: a front-office blunder driven by ego and analytics over experience.<\/p>\n

The Browns didn\u2019t lose a player \u2014 they lost their backbone.<\/p>\n

Wacko for Flacco \u2014 The Redemption Tour<\/h3>\n

On Thursday night, the Jungle went #WackoForFlacco.
\nThe veteran QB Cleveland discarded commanded a new offense like he\u2019d been there a season. He looked sharp, accurate, and confident \u2014 everything the Browns haven\u2019t been.<\/p>\n

As Prime Video\u2019s former quarterback analyst, Kirk Herbstreit called Flacco \u201ca unicorn.\u201d And he was right.<\/p>\n

The Bottom Line<\/h3>\n

I feel for Browns players and fans.
\nThey deserve better leadership and a front office that values results over excuses.<\/p>\n

Joe Vincent Flacco wasn\u2019t washed. The wrong people made another terrible call in Cleveland regarding a Quarterback.<\/p>\n

Now Flacco is proving them wrong under brighter lights and louder cheers.<\/p>\n

Mike Tomlin knew it.
\nTony Grossi knew it.
\nSome of us said it then \u2014 and the nation sees it now.<\/p>\n

The Browns let their unicorn go.
\nAnd now that unicorn is on fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Browns traded away Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals and it has already aged incredibly poorly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5662,"featured_media":251454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,8],"tags":[5305,6008,235,4548,32456],"class_list":["post-251429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-browns","tag-al-michaels","tag-andrew-berry","tag-joe-flacco","tag-kevin-stefanski","tag-kirk-herbstreit"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5662"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251429"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251495,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251429\/revisions\/251495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}