Joe Flacco went off on Shedeur Sanders for wearing a helmet visor last season: ‘You look like an idiot’
Somehow, the 2026 NFL season is fast approaching, and it’s equally surprising that it will once again feature Joe Flacco.
The 41-year-old player joined the Cincinnati Bengals organization following a midseason trade in 2025, but spent training camp and the first part of the season with the Cleveland Browns. Brown’s quarterback room was undoubtedly the most interesting room in football.
Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and then two rookies, Dillon Gabriel and of course Shedeur Sanders. Flacco’s role on the team was clear: to help the two rookies grow and develop while learning the ins and outs of playing quarterback at the highest level.
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Joe Flacco of the Cleveland Browns tries to throw the ball against the Green Bay Packers on September 21, 2025 at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Both Sanders and Gabriel likely expected Flacco to help them read defenses, recognize blitzes and coverages, navigate a complex playbook or learn the best ways to recover at the NFL level. But it’s doubtful Sanders was waiting for Flacco to lecture him about wearing a helmet visor.
In a new episode of Netflix’s “Quarterback,” Flacco absolutely attacked Sanders for his choice to wear a helmet visor at practice. Sanders and Gabriel were at first adamant that these were practical choices, then asked why they weren’t practical since they served as “eye shields.”
“Yes, but if you’re wearing a visor, it’s just for looks,” Flacco said. “You think you look cute. That time has come. I don’t want my kids to wear visors either. They all want visors. So I said, ‘Guys, these are just annoying. They’re going to fog up.’
“These suck, man. It’s all about looks. I wanted a viewfinder too when I was a kid, and then I was like, ‘Viewfinders suck. They don’t make any sense.'”
He wasn’t done there.
Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders run a drill during the Cleveland Browns’ mandatory minicamp at the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, Ohio, on June 10, 2025. (Nick Cammett/Diamond Images)
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“I’d let them wear it, but I’d tell them: ‘You’re a quarterback, bro, are you wearing a visor? You look like an idiot,'” he added. “If you’re a quarterback, you can tell (when) you’re trying to look too sweet.”
Hey, who would argue with someone who’s been in the NFL since 2008? Apparently Sanders, because he was still wearing one in minicamp this preseason. However, this time it was clearer than last season’s mirror-like appearance.
Cleveland Browns No. 2 receiver Shedeur Sanders throws a pass during mandatory minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on June 9, 2026 in Berea, Ohio. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
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The Browns and Sanders open their preseason schedules against the Bears on Aug. 15, then begin the regular season on the road against the Jaguars on Sept. 13. Flacco and the Bengals have the Lions in their preseason opener, then they host Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, also on Sept. 13.
One thing is for sure: Flacco will not be wearing a visor in this match.
