Joe Flacco has been in this league long enough to have been benched before. It happened at several stops during his NFL journey, particularly during time with the New York Jets, Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts. Even his time in Baltimore came to and end in a similar fashion, after he was supplanted by Lamar Jackson while recovering from an injury. 

So when Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski approached the 18-year veteran about promoting rookie QB Dillon Gabriel in the starting role, Flacco was more than equipped to cope with the disappointing news, even if he wished it wasn't true. 

"I don't think I foresaw it, the 40-year-old began. "Listen, I think I said it on Sunday, anytime you're in this league, I mean, everybody's always getting evaluated and the job of a quarterback is to help your team win football games."

That's not an easy conversation to have, but both parties handled it in a professional way. 

"Listen, me and Kevin can have a good conversation," he said. "Wasn't like it was anything super long or drawn out like that, but got to the point and had a good conversation with him about it, and it is what it is.

After nearly two decades in the NFL, Flacco prides himself on never getting two high or too low emotionally. At the same time, though, he takes a lot of pride in being able to play quarterback in this league. Regardless of how many times he's experienced being benched, Flacco couldn't completely ignore the feelings associated with it. 

"I think every situation’s unique ... and I think you do get emotional about it," Flacco admitted. "So it's tough to in the moment draw on those experiences. So you just kind of go back to just being yourself and relying on the people around you to help you cope with it a little bit."

Flacco may not be happy about the decision, but he does understand it. The Browns offense has been undeniably one of the worst in football through these first four weeks of the season, averaging just 14 points per game. 

On an individual level, Flacco himself has been one of the worst quarterbacks as well, ranking dead last in passer rating (60.8) among eligible quarterbacks. That's what frustrates him the most about the situation. That he simply wasn't able to lead the offense to better results. 

"I think the tougher thing is just going through what we've gone through the last four weeks and just not being able to produce the way we wanted to," Flacco said. "When you're in the moment and you're having conversations with people it is what it is. You look people in the eye and tell them how it is, and that's what it is." 

As Flacco comes to terms with his new reality, his coaches and teammates are still expecting him to play a major role in their success. Stefanski was adamant that as a captain of the team, they'll need Flacco's leadership throughout the rest of the season. 

Gabriel also expressed great admiration for Flacco's guidance in helping him prepare for this moment. 

"What I appreciate about Joe is it's not his job to be a mentor, it's his job to be a great quarterback. And I think just his openness to answer questions, it's my job to ask questions and search for those answers," he said. "Appreciate him for that. And he's a captain on this team. He's still a huge piece of what we do, and we look to him for a lot of things because he's been through it a bunch. So I think there's a ton of respect there for me and a guy I definitely look up to." 

His job title may have changed, but not much else will change for Flacco. He plans on keeping the same mentality he always has. 

"I think just be myself," he said of his approach moving forward. "Obviously, it can be tricky. I don't think you can put too much thought into it ... it's just being yourself, coming to work every day, giving it your all and keeping that same routine that you have when you were the guy. Just still being able to show everybody that you can come to work and still get it all done, even though it's not necessarily the same situation."