Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco is having a sensational season in his short time with the team.
He’s coming off his fourth consecutive 300-yard, multi-touchdown game and now has the Browns locked into a playoff spot with one game left in the season.
But a little more than a month ago, Flacco wasn’t even on a roster after the New York Jets decided not to bring him back this season.
Rather than sit around and wait for an opportunity, Flacco explained to “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN how he prepared his body for a quick return to the NFL despite so much time away from the field.
“I basically extended my offseason and stayed in the gym,” Flacco said. “… I was making sure that if I did get signed that my arm could deal with what it was going to go through over the next, however long I was going to be with the team.”
"I basically extended my offseason and stayed in the gym..
In terms of throwing the football I was doing it two or three times a week..
I was throwing with my younger brother and my dad was out in the field catching for us"
Joe Flacco #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/9o7lFEW5Tw
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 29, 2023
The Browns signed Flacco to their practice squad on November 20 and he started Cleveland’s Week 13 game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Although the Browns didn’t win that game, Flacco finished with 254 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in one of the best performances by a Cleveland quarterback this season.
He’s gone 4-0 since that game and has thrown for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions in only five appearances this season.
The Browns entered the season with Deshaun Watson as their starter, but lost him to a season-ending injury in Week 11.
Cleveland went between P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson before settling on Flacco, who’s outplayed all three quarterbacks despite his 38-year-old body.
NEXT: Joe Flacco Says Browns Teammate Is 'Special To Watch'