Kevin Stefanski Responds to Mike Tomlin Criticizing Browns Trading Flacco
The Cleveland Browns made an intriguing move, trading quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, a division rival, ahead of Week 6.
It was a surprising move between division rivals, and Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin criticized the Browns for the trade.
“To be honest, it was shocking to me,” Tomlin said about the trade. “Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us, because it doesn’t make sense to me to trade a quarterback that you think enough of to make your opening-day starter to a division opponent that’s hurting in that area. But that’s just my personal feelings.”
It was a bold comment from Tomlin, and Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about it on Monday. Stefanski wouldn’t give a comment on the matter.
“Yeah, I don’t have a comment on that,” Stefanski said on Monday.
Stefanski didn’t want to divulge too much into the reason for the Browns trade, or take a shot at Tomlin.
Cleveland traded Flacco and Detroit’s 2026 sixth-round pick to the Bengals for a 2026 fifth-round pick.
Stefanski Was Surprised by Flacco Trade
Although Tomlin criticized the Browns for trading Flacco to a division rival, Stefanski seemed to be out of the loop on the move.
After the trade was made, Stefanski spoke to reporters and admitted the move caught him by surprise.
“Well, first I have to tell you is that the Joe trade took us by surprise,” Stefanski said. “That was not something that we saw coming. They called us and it happened very fast and happened not too long ago. Still working through all roster type of things. I always have to be mindful of our players and our players’ development and I want to make sure that I’m always doing what’s best for our players and, of course, our team.”
Flacco, meanwhile, was also surprised by the trade. But the veteran was excited by it as he got a chance to start again.
“Crazy business. You have to be ready for anything. That’s what it was,” Flacco said. “I didn’t have this on my list of things that were going to happen. But that’s this league. I’m a player and most players would say the same thing. I love to play football. If that’s in Cincinnati right now, I’m all for it.”
Flacco went 29-for-45 for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Bengals’ loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 6.
Stefanski Knows Browns’ Offense Has to be Better
The focus for Stefanski and the Browns is to fix the offense.
Stefanski confirmed ahead of Week 7 that he will remain the offensive play caller for the Browns.
“Yeah, I’m going to keep calling plays, but I want to stress that this is – we have to get better in so many areas and that includes coaching. That includes how we teach our guys, how we put them in different formations, the ways you run the ball, ways you pass the ball, all of the above.”
Stefanski said the goal is to get Dillon Gabriel more comfortable and turn the offense around.
Caleb Williams Delivers Blunt Message After Bears’ Loss to Lions
There were some positives during the Chicago Bears‘ loss to the Detroit Lions. While a 31-point loss is never going to be looked at under a positive light, Rome Odunze, the second-year wide receiver who was drafted with Williams, had seven receptions for 128 yards.
Williams will continue to go after Odunze whenever he’s open, and even in challenging situations where he has to make a big play. When speaking to reporters about that, he credited their short history of being together as the reason why the connection is as strong as it already is.
“That’s just us being together for a year and a half now,” Williams said, per Bears Wire. “So being able to keep that rhythm with him, being able to get in rhythm with the other wide receivers … it’s important to have everybody going and everybody understand their role in this offense and that everybody is important.
“When you have a guy come out and he’s making great catches for you and getting off-man coverage and press, you want to keep feeding him the ball, and that’s just what happened today.”
Caleb Williams Remains a Question Mark in Chicago
The Chicago Bears have been searching for a competent quarterback for much of the past few decades. Unfortunately, Caleb Williams hasn’t answered the question of whether he’s that guy or not. Many are starting to believe that he isn’t.
Williams was brutal in the Bears’ 52-21 loss to their rival, the Detroit Lions, a game that wasn’t expected to come out that way.
The Chicago star didn’t play well again on Sunday, completing 19 of 30 passes for 207 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. While the defense didn’t show up for the Bears, and that’s concerning, Williams has to keep the offense on the field longer.
When speaking to reporters about how he played, Ben Johnson had some words of criticism for the youngster. Williams made a bad pass in the game, throwing an interception to Lions safety Kerby Jones.
He offered a short answer to what he has to do moving forward.
“He’s got to throw it away,” Johnson said.
Is Bears QB Caleb Williams Feeling the Heat?
Johnson is going to say it as he believes that things went down. There’s a reason why many in the Chicago Bears organization love him, because he says what he thinks, whether fans, players, or anyone else likes it.
Ultimately, his job is to ensure the Bears play the best type of football they can, and Williams wasn’t doing that.
For Williams, however, the heat is starting to catch up. If he doesn’t figure things out in the future, the heat will only continue to rise. To do so, he’ll have to ensure that he doesn’t go out there and be afraid to make mistakes when it matters most.
“It’s always pointing the finger at yourself before you go pointing at anybody else,” Williams said. “I’m not necessarily going to say ‘tough film’ or anything like that. You’re going to make mistakes,” per the Chicago Sun-Times.
“You’ve got to go out there and not be fearful of making a mistake, and that’s how I play. If something happens, all right, cool, move on to the next play and let’s go back out there.”
