The Cleveland Browns currently have a lot of quarterbacks. And Joe Flacco is the 17-year veteran who’s been expected to pave the way for the younger ones, including Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
But Flacco recently stated that his primary focus is playing at a high level – not mentoring.
“It’s not really about that. It’s just not the main focus,” Flacco said. “I see myself as a guy that can play in this league. So, if your main focus was just like, ‘hey, but I’m going to get you ready,’ you’re just not taking care of business.”
“The best way to be a mentor, honestly, is to show people how you go to work and like I said, hope that they pick up on that stuff, but not necessarily force them to pick up on the things that you do,” Flacco said.
Chris Canty slams Flacco over anti-mentor comments
One of Flacco’s old Baltimore Ravens teammates took issue with Flacco’s comments. Speaking on ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike”former defensive lineman Chris Canty called the comments “ridiculous”.
“Mentoring a young player is only going to make that player better, which makes the team better,” Canty said. “You’re only as strong as your weakest link. The whole point of the exercise is that everybody makes everyone better. That’s why you practice. You’re making each other better. It’s what you’re supposed to do. You do that with the reps on the practice field, but you also do that by sharing points and notes in the film room.”
“It’s a ridiculous answer from Joe Flacco,” Canty continued. “There’s no guarantee Joe Flacco is going to be healthy for 17 games, especially at 40 years old.”
And to Flacco’s point that he’s just trying to play football rather than being “baited” by the mentor question, Canty argued that mentoring and competing aren’t mutually exclusive.
“It’s stupid to not consider trying to do everything that you can to coach these other guys up,” Canty said. “Nobody is saying you have to do your job at a lesser level in terms of performing on the field, but if you can happen to impart some wisdom onto those guys who you’re spending 16 hours a day with in training camp, why wouldn’t you do that?”
“Just because you’re mentoring, doesn’t mean you can’t be the starting quarterback,” he went on. “His answer is non-sensical. I hate going so hard at one of my former teammates, but it’s one of the dumbest things I’ve heard Joe Flacco ever say.”
Flacco, who joined the Browns in April, is in a four-way quarterback competition with Pickett, Gabriel, and Sanders. However, it’s unlikely Cleveland will keep all four. One of them is likely to either be traded or placed on the practice squad depending on how the preseason goes.
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