Cleveland Browns veteran quarterback Joe Flacco is the elder statesman of the quarterback room.
However, Flacco does not see it as his role to be a mentor to the rookies, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. He has been steadfast about this and even took the same stance toward Anthony Richardson when he was with the Indianapolis Colts a year ago. But he hits a home run with his reasoning as to why he prefers to go about his business and put in the work:
“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. I tend to try to be honest, and I’ve said, ‘I’m not a mentor. I play football.”
This does not mean that Flacco is not down to give guidance to the young quarterbacks, but ultimately, Flacco is leaving the rest up to the likes of Gabriel and Sanders. As Flacco prepares to win a starting job or game plan for an opponent on a week-to-week basis, he wants the way he works to be the example set for younger quarterbacks. These OTAs are a great start for those rookies to fall in line behind the seasoned veteran and Super Bowl MVP.
“The best way to be a mentor, honestly, is to show people how you go to work. Like I said, hope they pick up on that stuff, but not necessarily force them to pick up on the things that you do.”
Joe Flacco gets very candid about the whole being a mentor narrative #Brownspic.twitter.com/oBjr8CsSal
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) May 28, 2025
Questions arise in meeting rooms, and things happen on the practice and game field. As Flacco looks to compete and win games, the young quarterbacks need to intuitively pick up and follow what the 40-year-old veteran does, rather than expecting him to walk them through how to be a professional.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns QB Joe Flacco gives perfect answer when asked about mentoring