Not much was made of the Browns’ decision to sign veteran quarterback Joe Flacco after Deshaun Watson’s season-ending shoulder injury. In fact, few were high on the acquisition at all.

The consensus was that Flacco, 38, had remained unsigned all season for a reason. He had led the Jets to a 1-3 record in 2022 and posted middling numbers, so few believed he would be anything more than a decent backup.

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Fast forward a month and Cleveland fans have almost all come down with a case of Flacco Fever.

Flacco has looked great in relief of Watson and rookie backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The veteran quarterback has led the Browns to a 3-1 record in four starts and has averaged 326.8 yards, 2.5 touchdowns and 1.8 interceptions per game while turning the Browns’ decent offense into an explosive aerial attack.

Flacco’s re-emergence has allowed the Browns to hold onto the No. 5 seed in the AFC. They now seem like a playoff shoo-in after they faced some existential questions following the loss of Watson.

Flacco’s performance has also brought up another important question: Why didn’t the Jets bring him back on a cheap deal to help replace Aaron Rodgers? He had spent multiple seasons with New York, after all, and would have given the team veteran depth at quarterback.

The answer to that query is a simple one. There simply wasn’t mutual interest in a reunion.

Why didn’t Joe Flacco come back to Jets?
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Flacco didn’t return to the Jets because New York wasn’t interested in bringing back the veteran quarterback.

New York believed that its quarterback room was in good shape with Aaron Rodgers, Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle set to man it during the 2023 NFL season. However, their ranks were thinned after Rodgers’ Week 1 injury, and Russini reports that Flacco reached out to the team about a potential reunion.

Rather than add Flacco, the Jets decided to stick with Wilson and Boyle as their top two options. They eventually signed Trevor Siemian to the practice squad as their third quarterback, eschewing Flacco despite his three seasons spent with the team.

Flacco took that rejection in stride and took the high road when asked about New York’s decision not to bring him back on board.

“I enjoyed my time while I was there,” Flacco told reporters on Tuesday. “It is what it is. I’m happy to be where I am, that’s for sure.”

#Browns Joe Flacco on facing #Jets, who didn’t call this year after he was there for three years. pic.twitter.com/FvAGw45XoV

— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) December 26, 2023

He also downplayed the notion that he could be out for revenge when the two sides square off on “Thursday Night Football.”

“There’s 32 teams in the NFL. They’re just another one of those teams,” Flacco said. “I have a lot of guys over there that I really respect and had an awesome few years over there in that locker room.”

It’s not too surprising that this was the ever-humble Flacco’s reaction. He is likely taking solace in the fact that the Jets ultimately made the wrong decision, as signing Flacco would have at least given the team better insurance than it had behind the volatile Wilson.

Jets coach Robert Saleh told reporters this week he has no regrets about how the situation played out.

“We love Joe, first and foremost,” Saleh said. “We spent a couple of years with him, love him, love the way he prepares, really pumped for him and the success he’s having. It’s just the decision we made in terms of the quarterback room and the way we developed it over the course of OTAs and training camp. It was just a decision we made.”

Jets QB stats 2023
The Jets have had to use four different starting quarterbacks in 2023 because of the injury to Rodgers and the inefficiencies of his backup quarterbacks.

New York’s plan to trust Wilson as Rodgers’ replacement predictably flopped. The third-year quarterback showed some flashes but struggled to read the field once again. The Jets endured little offensive success under Wilson, especially in the red zone, so that prompted them to give Boyle a shot.

Boyle was a disaster as well and was released because of that. Siemian has started one game to date — a win over the Commanders — but none of the quarterbacks have been as prolific as Flacco in Cleveland.

Below is a look at the Jets’ quarterback stats from 2023 entering Week 17.

Player Record Comp. % Pass yards Pass TDs INTs Rating
Aaron Rodgers 1-0 0 0 0 0 39.6
Zach Wilson 4-7 60.1 2,271 8 7 77.2
Tim Boyle 0-2 62.3 360 1 4 56.2
Trevor Siemian 1-0 52.3 393 1 3 53.8
Those numbers most certainly cost the Jets a couple of victories in their 6-9 season to date. While Rodgers’ injury was unpredictable, New York can still be blamed for not having a better backup plan behind him than the trio of Wilson, Boyle and Siemian.

MORE: Updated NFL playoff picture entering Week 17

Joe Flacco stats with the Browns 2023
Further twisting the knife in the Jets’ wound is the fact that Flacco has been one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league since joining the Browns in November.

Flacco has turned the ball over with the Browns, but he has more than made up for it by sparking Cleveland’s passing game. He has thrown for at least 254 yards in every game and enters the final “Thursday Night Football” game of the year having topped 300 yards in each of his last three games.

Flacco still has some warts, notably those stemming from his inaccuracy and penchant for deep-ball turnovers. Still, he has done plenty to showcase that he can still be a great backup in the right situation. And perhaps he will even re-emerge as a bridge starter for the right team.

Jets QB stats 2023 vs. Joe Flacco stats 2023
When looking at the Jets’ quarterback performance from 2023 and what Flacco’s performance would look like extrapolated over a 17-game slate, there’s no contest that Flacco would emerge as the better passer.

Might Flacco have endured struggles similar to the Jets quarterbacks behind a worse offensive line? Surely.

But still, it looks like the Jets made a mistake in not at least considering signing Flacco to compete with Wilson at the time they signed Siemian. Or perhaps they should have sought out a reunion with Flacco rather than an entanglement with Boyle.

Either way, Flacco will have a chance to remind the Jets of exactly what they are missing when the two teams face off on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 17.