“Most of us have dreamt of this moment since we were 5 years old. For him to get out there and play, even though it is preseason, we will all be on the sidelines and at home enjoying it,” said Flacco.

Beyond his talent, Flacco’s attitude is what sets him apart from past veteran quarterbacks who have come to the Browns and failed. He is not ill-fitted to the offense like Jeff Garcia in 2004, insecure like Trent Dilfer in 2005, or burdened with a knucklehead rookie like Brian Hoyer was in 2014.

“Listen, I can be an a——, but not necessarily in that way,” Flacco said. “I feel like I try to be a good person, so all I can do is do my job to the best of my ability. If that means I’m not the guy, well, yeah, I might feel a certain way about it, but I’m not gonna be bitter about it towards other people that didn’t do anything to me.