Flacco, who worked out with the team last week, will provide another option at QB following Deshaun Watson’s season-ending injury.
CLEVELAND — It appears the Browns will indeed have another option at quarterback.
Just hours after Cleveland’s 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, multiple outlets are reporting veteran QB Joe Flacco will be signing with the team’s practice squad. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Field Yates also say Flacco is expected to eventually promoted to the Browns’ active roster, a move coming in the wake of normal starter Deshaun Watson’s season-ending injury.
Flacco, who worked out for the Browns in Berea last week, comes with 15 years of NFL experience, including 11 with the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens. During that stretch, the Delaware alum not only won 10 playoff games as well as a Super Bowl MVP, but also enjoyed a 17-3 record against Cleveland.
Yet while Flacco has thrown for 42,320 yards and 232 touchdowns during his career, his days as a consistent starter are long behind him, and he has bounced around the league since being benched in favor of Lamar Jackson five years ago. His most recent action came a season ago with the New York Jets, when he threw for 1,051 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions in five games (four starts) that included a come-from-behind victory over the Browns in Cleveland.
The Browns currently sport an impressive 7-3 record despite the quarterback position being a revolving door almost from the jump. Watson was expected to fully take the reins this year after being suspended for most of 2022, but wound up missing three of four starts with a shoulder injury. He returned to put up impressive numbers in a pair of wins, only to have his season cut short by a fracture in the same right shoulder.
In Watson’s absence, Cleveland has turned to a combination of fifth-round rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson and former XFL star P.J. Walker, going 2-2 in the pair’s four starts (Walker also played most of a win over the Indianapolis Colts that Watson originally started). Walker boasts much more NFL experience, but it was Thompson-Robinson getting his second start Sunday against Pittsburgh, going 24 of 43 for 165 yards and an interception along with a 54.9 passer rating.
The Browns have not yet announced the Flacco signing, and head coach Kevin Stefanski has not said who will start at quarterback next week against the Denver Broncos. If Flacco is acquired, it could also put one of the two current QBs on the chopping block.