Notes: Joe Flacco glad to be healthy, getting more reps, not dwelling on QB competition

Joe Flacco has received an uptick in repetitions in the last week-plus after Kenny Pickett injured a hamstring. While Flacco appears to have moved ahead in the competition to be the starting quarterback, he insisted he's not looking ahead to a decision being made."I'm not worried one bit," he told reporters Wednesday after a joint practice against the Panthers in Charlotte, North Carolina. "I'm just out here enjoying it and doing the best I can every single day, trying to show these guys that: 'Man, I can do it. You should have confidence in me.'"When I talk to my wife at night, maybe she's not as patient. But, listen, I'm having a lot of fun just going out there and slamming it around at practice right now, and I'm doing a good job just kind of keeping my feet where they are, and that's all I can do right now."Excitement surrounds Shedeur Sanders' preseason start FridayPickett was injured July 26 and missed three practices. He returned to practice Friday but remains out of team drills.Flacco has gotten the majority of first-team work in Pickett's absence — Dillon Gabriel has also been limited this week with a tight hamstring — and has been solid as he tries to separate from Pickett in what was a close competition."I'm not trying to look into too much," Flacco said. "I can say that when you get a little bit more (reps) you can start to feel like yourself, get in the groove and you calm down a little bit. It's just human nature."When you're getting two reps, three reps, 'oh, this has to be perfect.' And when you feel that way, you're not going to be as good. So to be able to relax a little bit, let it loose and get a little bit more, it just feels right. So I'm not going to look into what it means, but it definitely feels good to be out there."Zone Coverage PodcastFlacco will be held out of the preseason opener Friday. Rookie Shedeur Sanders will start."It goes per player what I think they need to get ready for the season," coach Kevin Stefanski said of sitting Flacco.At 40 years old, Flacco remains motivated to win the job."That's why we play the game, right? We play to play. That's what gets us all going," he said. "You do get gained perspective. You can remind yourself, 'wow, this is cool that we're out here,' but the end goal is to be the guy on the field playing the football games. That's why we all do it. That's as simple as it gets."Flacco is the only one of the four quarterbacks in the competition who hasn't missed time with an injury. Sanders was held out of team drills Saturday with arm soreness."The fact that I am 40 in here is just like I've been fortunate with my body," Flacco said. "I've learned how to take care of it. There is part of me that wishes we were doing three-hour practices because I could show that I could last through those, too."Dillon Gabriel's pro career is off to rough start with struggles, injuryCRASH COURSEQuarterback Tyler Huntley agreed to a deal Monday, signed Tuesday and joined the team. He practiced Wednesday and is expected to play Friday after starter Shedeur Sanders."We'll get Snoop back up to speed quickly," Stefanski said. "He's been in a couple different offenses since we last saw him, so he's doing a great job of working at it."Huntley spent last offseason with the Browns before being cut after the preseason. He landed with the Dolphins and started five games."Snoop's obviously a great kid, too. We love having him around," Stefanski said.Flacco and Huntley didn't overlap with the Ravens. Flacco's last year in Baltimore was 2018 and Huntley arrived in 2020."He's got the biggest smile on his face, holding his hand out, giving you a high-five," Flacco said of Huntley at practice Wednesday. "It's a reminder of, he just feels blessed to be out here and be on the grass playing football."INJURY REPORTCornerback Greg Newsome II (shoulder) remained severely limited but is "progressing nicely," according to Stefanski** Offensive lineman Zak Zinter, a third-round pick last year, didn't make the trip after leaving practice Monday with an undisclosed injury.** Linebacker Mohamoud Diabate and running back Pierre Strong Jr. missed their second straight practice with undisclosed injuries.** Cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. had surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon and is in Cleveland beginning the recovery. He was injured July 29 and is out for the season.TOO MUCH YELLOWThe coaches have put an emphasis on eliminating penalties, especially those before the snap, after ranking tied for fourth-most in the league last year with seven a game. The session with the Panthers was marred by flags."Presnap ones are the one that we can control. It's all mental," Flacco said. "We did have some of those today. It's been a point of emphasis for us throughout the whole camp. So to come out here and get against another team where maybe you're a little bit more revved up, I think that showed today."There's been days where we've been really good and there's been days where we've not been good enough."HIGH PRAISEStefanski wouldn't leave the interview session until he was asked about 34-year-old Panthers receiver Adam Thielen. They spent six years together with the Vikings and Stefanski said he uses him as an example almost every day."He's still doing it at a high level. Love to watch him play," he said. "We nicknamed him Teach Tape a long time ago when he was a young rookie for us at the Vikings. He shows up on those teach tapes a lot, but unbelievable competitor and just an even better person."Stefanski flashed back to a catch Thielen made during the "Minneapolis Miracle" playoff win."He hurt his back early in that game and was playing," he said. "He ran a slant late in the game. There's defensive holding, defensive pass interference, made the play with a bad back and set the team up for what was an unbelievable win for the team. I don't know if there's many more plays in the history of this game that are as impressive as that."The post Notes: Joe Flacco glad to be healthy, getting more reps, not dwelling on QB competition first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.