Baltimore, MD – June 29, 2025
It’s a moment many knew would come — but that doesn’t make it any easier for the fans who watched a quiet leader from Delaware lift an entire franchise to the NFL’s biggest stage.
A Super Bowl MVP. A playoff assassin. A black-and-purple icon.
And now, after a 17-year journey through triumph, transition, and resilience, one of the most unshakable quarterbacks of the modern era is expected to walk away from the game that made him immortal in Baltimore.
After a final season with the Cleveland Browns, Joe Flacco is widely expected to retire from the NFL following the 2025 campaign, according to CBS Sports insider Tyler Sullivan. Though no official announcement has been made, the writing is on the wall — and it reads like the end of a remarkable chapter.
“Flacco isn’t too far behind Aaron Rodgers in age,” Sullivan wrote. “He’s the second-oldest active player in the league, and at 40, this feels like a natural cutoff point if he doesn’t want to be a backup anymore.”
Flacco’s time since leaving Baltimore has taken him through stops in Denver, Indianapolis, and Cleveland. But ask any Ravens fan, and they’ll tell you: no matter the jersey, Flacco was always one of their own.
His record? 105 career wins, 212 touchdown passes, and a playoff resume that includes 11 wins and one unforgettable Super Bowl run in 2012. In that postseason alone, he threw 11 touchdowns with zero interceptions — a feat that remains one of the most dominant in league history.
Though he went 2–4 as a starter with the Colts last season, his arm strength remains intact, and he’s expected to compete for the Browns’ Week 1 starting job one last time. But with Cleveland also developing Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders, Flacco’s role is more stopgap than solution.
In many ways, he had already stepped away from football. Following a quiet 2022, Flacco was essentially retired before getting the call late in 2023 to rescue the Browns' season. He answered — and played well enough to extend his career once more.
But now, with one year left on his deal and the league changing around him, the moment feels right.
There may not be a grand farewell tour. No parade of tributes. Just the quiet exit of a quarterback who never needed the spotlight — but always delivered when it mattered most.
“He’ll always be remembered first and foremost for his Ravens greatness,” Sullivan noted — a sentiment echoed throughout Baltimore this week.
Joe Flacco didn’t chase headlines. He chased championships. And he gave Baltimore one they’ll never forget.
Stay tuned to ESPN!
