Bengals fans chanted, “Thank you, Cleveland!” Thursday night, after Browns castoff Joe Flacco led Cincinnati to an upset victory over Pittsburgh in stunning fashion.
But at least one football fan in Cleveland wasn’t feeling nearly as charitable after the game.
To recap, the Browns shocked the football-watching world last week by trading their Week 1 starter to their in-state division rival, the Cincinnati Bengals. Flacco did quite well against the Packers last weekend, considering he had only been in Cincy for all of five days before starting his first game with the team.
However, he was positively stunning in his second game with the Bengals, as he lit up the Steelers for 342 yards and three touchdowns while engineering a much-needed 33-31 win.
This did not sit well with Cleveland sportstalk radio host Tony Rizzo, who went on a lengthy rant against the Browns’ braintrust on his show Friday.
“How could you do that, Andrew. How could you do it!” Rizzo said of Browns GM Andrew Berry. “Why on earth did you feel the need to trade this guy to a division opponent for a fifth-round draft pick? Fireable offense! That is a fireable offense!”
Berry sent Flacco and a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Bengals in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick. After watching Flacco perform Thursday night at a level he never even approached at any point during his time in Cleveland, to move up one round in the draft, Rizzo was decidedly unamused.
“I want to know how much longer the owner is going to watch this crap,” Rizzo said. “Because the fans have had it. They deserve better. You just worry more about your stadium than you are your football team. That’s the perception, Jimmy (Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam).”
Rizzo then directed his ire at Haslam himself, for “allowing” failed decision makers to turn the “franchise into a joke.”
“And you allow these people to do this; you have the worst offense in the league, your GM screwed this quarterback thing up like I’ve never seen. In my life, I’ve never seen anything like it.” Rizzo said. “Kids that play Madden coulda’ done a better job. Truly, that’s not hyperbole. It’s a joke. It’s a joke, this franchise has become a joke.”
The Browns’ comically inept record at evaluation, development, and general handling of the quarterback position is well documented. Cleveland has had ten different starting QBs since 2021 alone, and 41 since 1999.
Haslam’s record of futility is also well-known. Since he took over as principal owner in 2012, the Browns are 74-143, with only two playoff appearances.
If Rizzo is this upset after Joe Flacco beats the Steelers, imagine when he beats the Browns later this year.
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