He’s back. For at least a weekend, QB Joe Flacco is once again an NFL starter. The Cleveland Browns have officially announced Flacco as their starter for this Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, making him the fourth quarterback to start for the team this season.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport broke the news just moments ago that Flacco will start Sunday for Cleveland.
Flacco takes the place of rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who is out for this game due to a concussion he suffered in last Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos. He failed to practice all week, forcing the Browns to turn to other options. That option is the 38-year-old Flacco, who hasn’t thrown a pass all season. Signed to the team’s practice squad two weeks ago, he’s getting the nod over P.J. Walker, who has been with the team far longer but threw too many costly interceptions while replacing the injured Deshaun Watson earlier this season.
Flacco’s last start came in the 2022 regular-season finale against the Miami Dolphins. A game Steelers’ fans remember well, needing the Jets to beat the Dolphins to have get into the playoffs. Flacco completed 18-of-33 passes for 149 yards but the Jets lost in the final seconds, Miami QB Skylar Thompson doing enough to get the Dolphins in field goal range and Jason Sanders nailing a 50-yard kick to take a 9-6 lead with less than 30 seconds to play.
A first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2008 NFL Draft, Flacco is just one of two first rounders from that class still playing in the NFL. Jets offensive tackle Duane Brown is the other. Armed with a Super Bowl ring, the Browns are at least keeping up appearances as they turn to Flacco in a critical point of their season. Yesterday, Browns OC Alex Van Pelt said Flacco can still sling it.
“I think there’s still a lot left in that tank,” he said via Cleveland.com.
The Browns sit at 7-4 on the season and on the inside edge of a Wild-Card spot. But in a competitive AFC with teams like the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos still hanging around, not to mention the rest of the North and teams like the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills, the Browns don’t have much margin for error. And the weight of the injuries they’ve suffered this season, losing multiple quarterbacks, their franchise running back, and both offensive tackles may be too much for them to overcome. They’ll take on the 5-6 Rams on the road this weekend. The Rams are coming off a blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals last week. The Steelers will host those Cardinals this Sunday.
Around the rest of the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens have a bye week, incredibly playing exactly one football game over a 26-day span, while the Cincinnati Bengals will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars Monday night.
