11:00am: To make room, Cleveland has waived Ray Agnew, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets.
10:06am: Thigpen will likely back up Connor Shaw against Baltimore, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets.
9:56am: Rex Grossman wasn’t interested in the opportunity, but another signal caller was. The Browns have signed Tyler Thigpen, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (via Twitter).
The Browns were without a healthy quarterback heading into their season finale against the Ravens. Rookie Johnny Manziel suffered a hamstring injury in last week’s loss to the Panthers. The Browns’ original starter for the 2014 season, Brian Hoyer, is nursing a shoulder injury. In addition to that injury, a source says that Hoyer is dealing with a badly bruised bicep, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. While his status for Sunday’s intra-divisional tilt has not been disclosed, it seems possible that he might not be able to go, leaving Thigpen to start.
Thigpen, 30, joined the Browns on a one-year deal in May after a strong performance at their minicamp. A seventh-round pick in the 2007 draft, he saw his most significant action during the 2008 season, when he started 11 games for the Chiefs and put up respectable numbers, including 2,608 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions. Since then, he has served as a backup in Kansas City, Miami, and Buffalo. While he made a strong impression on the team, Thigpen was released in August to make room for Grossman.