In the wake of his second straight impressive showing, Joe Flacco is in line to remain in the No. 1 quarterback role moving forward. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced after today’s contest that Flacco will be the team’s starter for the remainder of the season. 
Deshaun Watson was in line to serve as Cleveland’s full-time starter, and he began to show promise for the first time since his arrival with the team (via a massive trade haul and a fully guaranteed, $230MM contract) midway through the season. Lingering shoulder issues ultimately led to Watson being shut down after undergoing season-ending surgery last month, however, leaving a vacancy for the Browns to fill.
Fifth-round rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson was in line to move up to the starter’s role in place of Watson. The former impressed during training camp and the preseason, and he saw one start early in the season (in place of P.J. Walker). Thompson-Robinson did not play well in that contest, though he did get the nod for consecutive starts in November: a win over the Steelers followed by a loss to the Broncos.
The UCLA product missed Week 13 due to a concussion, which paved the way for Flacco to see his first start not long after having signed with the Browns. The former Super Bowl MVP had an encouraging start to that game, a loss to the Rams. Flacco’s overall numbers (23-of-44 for 254 yards, two touchdowns, one interception) left plenty to be desired, but he delivered a stronger performance on Sunday.
Flacco posted 311 yards, three touchdowns and one interception while going 26-for-45 in a win over the Jaguars in Week 14. As a result of his strong play, it comes as no surprise that Stefanski and Co. have elected to keep the 38-year-old atop the depth chart as the team’s playoff push continues. Cleveland has now won a game with four different QBs this year, a fact made even more impressive considering the season-ending knee injury star running back Nick Chubb suffered early in the campaign. Flacco had been a gameday practice squad elevation, but today’s news confirms he will be signed to the active roster in the near future.
After seeing his Jets tenure come to an end this offseason, Flacco expressed an interest in continuing his career despite his age and a 1-8 record as a starter in New York. The longtime Ravens starter has managed to impress this year, though, and he now has the opportunity to lead his new team to a postseason position. Sitting at 8-5, the Browns are part of a logjam in the AFC’s wild-card picture, but continued strong play from under center could not only boost Flacco’s free agent prospects but also Cleveland’s chances of making an unexpected playoff appearance.
Their defense is legit so it is better to have a vet leading the offense. They won in spite of DTR and Walkers, but they can win because Flacco.
Yeah that’s exactly what I’ve been thinking. They have a playoff caliber defense and a few solid weapons in Cooper, Njoku, and Moore, so they really just need someone that won’t shoot them in the foot every week.
DTR could be a good backup or spot starter in time, but there were too many rookie moments from him and PJ Walker turned it over way too much.
Old man still got it. Smart choice from Kevin
Trevor is overrated. He’s decent to good, but not ‘generational’.
^ this guy gets it
Tell that to jags fans. You critique 16 all hell breaks loose lmao
I live 1 hour south of Jax. TL is ok.
I mean yeah
Is Trevor Lawrence mentioned in this article?….random critique
Trevor was outplayed by Flaco. And it wasn’t even close. Same thing happened last week against another backup for Cinny.
Well I’m a Falcons fan and can’t throw shade…we lost 3 straight games to backup QBs and one that hasn’t played a game in over a year smh
Your QB wasn’t graded as a generational QB coming out of school. I believe he’s a 3rd round pick? Trevor shown much more than being good.
Falcons fan too
The Falcons may need to swap divisions with the Georgia Bulldogs.
Huh
Huh what?
TL: 28/50 257 yards 3-3 td/picks
Flaco: 26/45 311 yards 3-1 ratio.
That’s being out played. By a backup that had 1 week to learn a new system.
I wasn’t responding to you @arty
Sorry.
To be fair TL couldn’t even walk last Monday from his high ankle sprain. Amazing he even played at all yesterday.
I’m not basing my judgement off one game, rather 2 & half years of playing. I just don’t see the ‘wow’ factor. Some great games followed by bad ones. They’ve drafted OL for him, traded for WR’s & FA’s WR’s; and still an average offense all in all. A top 15 offense isn’t saying much when there’s only 32 offenses.
Good for JF…nice to see him have some success again!
Amazing how we have all these QBs in college and Flacco still manages to find employment at his age. Goes to show the state of the young QBs and lack of ability have more than one on each team worthy of starting.
Well…he IS elite, right?
As a Ravens fan I’ll always love Flacco. Happy for him!
Where is the Paternity Suit story on Tyreek Hill? Been waiting all morning for it.