The race for the Cleveland Browns’ QB1 spot is heating up, and that’s not just because OTAs are held in the summer. However, veteran rookie Joe Flacco has no interest in “mentoring” the younger cast of characters that fill the Browns’ QB room.
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While it’s understandable as to why someone may not be keen on training someone else to take their job, the media has managed to have an absolute field day with his answers, twisting them to conform to whatever narrative they may be trying to push. According to the Super Bowl XLVII MVP, the media’s questioning of his willingness to be a mentor is nothing more than a typical catch-22.
“If I say I don’t want to be a mentor, I look bad. If I say I do want to be a mentor, then I look like an idiot who doesn’t care about being good and playing football. It’s one of those questions that, no matter what I say, you guys can write what you want to write about it… I tend to try to be honest, and I’ve said I’m not a mentor. I play football,” he explained.
After Flacco’s comments, a former quarterback himself, Cam Newton, couldn’t help but sympathize with the veteran. During the most recent episode of his 4th & 1 podcast, the Carolina Panthers legend admitted that “I relate to this a lot.”
The retired signal caller commended Flacco for his honesty. In having been asked similar questions about his own situation in the past, Newton explained that it’s hard to ask a career competitor to take a backseat to the next generation.
“I went through this in my career, in the latter part. ‘Cam, could you be a backup? Cam, you’re not a day one starter.’ But now, I really commend Joe Flacco for really being honest. That’s not to say I wasn’t honest, because I was extremely honest… It’s a touchy topic because once you’ve tasted the expectation of starting, it’s hard for you to put your competitive nature in the backseat.”
Nevertheless, Newton also hinted that, on account of Cleveland drafting “not just one, but two” quarterbacks, perhaps this situation was one that Flacco should have seen coming. Considering that Flacco has nearly 20 years of experience, the former Panther is likely correct.
However, Newton also maintained that he agreed with Flacco’s decision to speak honestly when asked for his opinions on the QB race. Seemingly inspired to do the same, Newton exclaimed that,
“It’s nobody’s job to teach you anything. It’s your job to make sure that you learn at your rate. It’s your job to learn that ‘Hey, how do I take notes?'”
If you want to be successful in the NFL, according to Newton, then you better be a self-starter. Given the current wide-open nature of the Browns’ QB contest, it’s safe to say that whichever quarterback first embodies those traits of independence and attentiveness will likely be the one who ends up winning the job.
When accounting for the lack of age and maturity that every other member of the Browns’ QB room currently features, it seems inevitable that Flacco will end up being the starter in Week 1.
