Browns Starter Backs Joe Flacco as QB Decision Looms
Joe Flacco could make his first start for the Cleveland Browns this week.
The Cleveland Browns are in quarterback limbo once against following an injury to Dorian Thompson-Robinson, which could lead to Joe Flacco making his first start of the season.
If it happens, running back Jerome Ford would be a fan of the move.
“Of course, there’s comfort in having a guy like Joe Flacco,” Ford said on Monday, November 27. “With everything that he’s accomplished, being in the same meeting room as Joe and on the same team as Joe, and we’re just pretty much looking forward to what he can do to help the team and how we can help him and build a relationship.”
Joe Flacco could make his first start for the Cleveland Brstart for the Cleveland Brownquarterback limbo once against following an injury to Dorian Thompson-Robinson, which could lead to Joe Flacco making his first start of the season.
If it happens, running back Jerome Ford would be a fan of the move.
“Of course, there’s comfort in having a guy like Joe Flacco,” Ford said on Monday, November 27. “With everything that he’s accomplished, being in the same meeting room as Joe and on the same team as Joe, and we’re just pretty much looking forward to what he can do to help the team and how we can help him and build a relationship
Ford is also speaking about what Flacco brings to the table as a veteran leader in the locker room. Thompson-Robinson is a rookie and PJ Walker is a journeyman QB, so adding a passer wcareer starts to the room is a significant move.
Flacco has completed 3,881 of 6,299 career passes (61.6%) with 232 touchdowns and 147 interceptions. He has compiled a 99-81 (.550) record as a starter and is 10-5 in the postseason. He won the 2013 Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and was named MVP in that game.
Thompson-Robinson is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. He suffered a concussion after taking a hard hit against the Denver Broncos and is currently in the protocol. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski isn’t jumping the gun on making a decision on who his QB will be this week.
We don’t announce really starters at any position on a Monday. So those are always things when it comes to depth chart that you work through,” Stefanski said on Monday, November 27. “You just have the week to work through those type of things. So that’s what we’ll do as it pertains to who’s available. That’s how the NFL operates. That’s how we operate. It changes week to week. That’s just how it is.”
If it’s not Flacco, the Browns would turn to Walker, who has started a pair of games and played in relief of Thompson-Robinson against the Broncos. Flacco was not active after being signed earlier in the week.
Walker went 6 of 13 for 56 yards with a 58.5 rating against the Broncos. The problem for Walker has been turnovers. He has five interceptions and has lost two fumbles this season, tossing just one touchdown.
Joe Flacco Wants to Prove He Can Still Play
There’s a chance that Flacco could end up the starter, even if Thompson-Robinson is cleared to play. Cleveland has averaged just 9.3 points in the rookie’s three starts and the insertion of Flacco and his big arm could help spark what has been a stagnant offense.
“I definitely believe I can still play. And like I said, I’m focused on the day to day,” Flacco said on November 22 while being introduced. “And as long as I can do that, then whatever happens, I think that whatever my role ends up being and wherever this takes me, then I’ll do my best at that.”
Flacco last played for the New York Jets. He passed for 1,051 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions in four starts.
J.R. DeGroote covers the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com. He covered local and statewide sports as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and has decades of experience in digital media with previous stops at SB Nation and Bleacher Report. He has won multiple state, regional and national honors for sports reporting and photography. More about J.R. DeGroote
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