As the 2026 NFL season approaches, Joe Flacco, now with the Cincinnati Bengals after a midseason trade in 2025, reflected on his time with the Cleveland Browns during training camp and early season play. The Browns' quarterback room included Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.

Flacco's role was to mentor the rookies, but he openly criticized Sanders for wearing a helmet visor during practice sessions. This incident was featured on Netflix's "Quarterback" show, where Flacco called the visor choice impractical and said, "You look like an idiot."

Sanders and Gabriel initially defended the visor as a practical choice. However, Flacco countered, "Yeah, but if you wear a visor, it's for looks. You think you look sweet. It's that era. I don't want my kids to wear visors either. They all want visors. I'm like, 'Guys, they're just annoying. They're gonna fog up.'" He added, "If you're a quarterback, you can tell (when) you're trying to look too sweet."

Photos captured by Nick Cammett show Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders running drills during the Browns' mandatory minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, Ohio, on June 10, 2025, and again on June 9, 2026.

The Browns are set to open their preseason on August 15, 2026, against the Chicago Bears, with the regular season starting on September 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Meanwhile, Flacco and the Bengals will face the Detroit Lions in their preseason opener and host Baker Mayfield's Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 13.

Sources