Aaron Rodgers is the top quarterback available in NFL free agency with three teams actively interested in signing the future Hall of Famer. While the four-time NFL MVP is the center of NFL rumors right now, fellow Super Bowl winner Joe Flacco is also generating significant interest.
Flacco, age 40, was seemingly done with football after the 2022 season. However, he signed with the Cleveland Browns and helped the team reach the playoffs with a 4-1 record as the starter. Following that successful stint, which landed him NFL Comeback Player of the Year, Flacco spent the last season with the Indianapolis Colts.
- Joe Flacco stats 2024 (ESPN): 1,761 passing yards, 12-7 TD-INT, 65.3% completion rate, 90.5 QB rating, 7.1 yards per attempt in eight games
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In his age-39 season, Flacco played in eight games and went 2-4 as a starter. While he posted a career-best 65.3 percent completion rate, his touchdown rate plummeted from 6.4 percent in Cleveland to 4.8 percent this past season. Flacco’s yards per attempt also fell (7.9 to 7.1). However, he’s still generating plenty of interest including a recent free-agent visit with the New York Giants.
Following his visit with the Giants, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings are also “in play” for Flacco.
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- Joe Flacco career stats: 38,245 passing yards, 212-136 TD-INT, 61.7% completion rate, 84.1 QB rating
A return to Cleveland makes the most sense for Flacco. He’s already a fan-favorite with the fan base and would likely be favored in a competition with Kenny Pickett to be the Browns starting quarterback in 2025. However, the roster is worse than his last stop in Cleveland and the organization might use the second overall pick on a quarterback.
New York is another viable option, especially if Rodgers signs with the Steelers and Russell Wilson heads to Cleveland. As with the Browns, though, Flacco would potentially have to compete with a rookie quarterback selected with the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Losing out on Rodgers and Wilson and then settling for Flacco would likely be a disastrous outcome for a Steelers front office that opened the offseason with an aggressive trade for DK Metcalf. As for the Vikings, Flacco would presumably back up J.J. McCarthy, but he might not be an ideal veteran given his public comments about wanting to take starting jobs from young quarterbacks.