The Cleveland Browns officially elevated Joe Flacco from the practice squad to the active roster on Saturday ahead of his first start with the team.
Flacco will draw the start on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. Flacco signed with the Browns’ practice squad on Nov. 20 but was not active last time out against the Denver Broncos.
The 38-year-old Flacco is in his 16th NFL season out of Delaware. Originally a first-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2008, Flacco has appeared in 183 games with 180 starts in stints with the Ravens, Broncos and New York Jets.
Browns franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson is out for the season with a broken bone in his shoulder. He recently had surgery on the injury and is expected to be ready for the start of next season.
Joe Flacco Jumped PJ Walker on Browns’ Depth Chart
Getty ImagesCleveland Browns QB PJ Walker with serve as Joe Flacco’s backup on Sunday.
Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson served as the starter for a pair of games but took a hard hit in the third quarter against the Broncos. Thompson-Robinson quickly went to the locker room and has yet to clear concussion protocol.
Cleveland’s other option at quarterback this week was journeyman PJ Walker. He started a pair of games and played the majority of a third when Watson was out earlier in the season. He struggled with turnovers and didn’t provide much of a spark offensively.
Flacco brings some significant experience to the table. He has completed 3,881 of 6,299 career passes (61.6 percent) with 232 touchdowns and 147 interceptions. He has compiled a 99-81 (.550) record as a starter. Flacco led the Ravens to a victory in Super Bowl XLVII, while being named the Super Bowl MVP. He was signed to the Browns’ practice squad on Nov. 20.
The Browns also elevated cornerback AJ Green. He’ll help provide depth with Denzel Ward out.
Browns WRs Excited About Joe Flacco Addition
GettyWide receiver Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns didn’t have a ton of options once Watson went down but the addition of Flacco has the chance to spark what has been a very stagnant passing game.
“He looks good. He throws a very pretty ball,” Browns WR Amari Cooper said on Thursday, November 30. “I don’t know if it’s intentional or what, but when he drops back and he lets it go, the whole motion is like poetry in motion. It looks good.”
The lone Browns receiver who has experience catching balls from Flacco is Elijah Moore. The two teamed up last season with the Jets.
“Joe has like a calmness type of aura to him to where if you’re ever hyped, he’s not going to give you that same energy back. He’s going to get the job done, but he’s going to show you that he can get it done in a controlled environment,” Moore said on Friday, December 1. “And which you love because football brings a lot of emotions and Joe’s the type of person you ever watch him catch somebody emotion. You’re just going to be like – he’s going to do little mannerisms to show that he has it under control and that’s his personality.”
The Browns are a 3.5-point underdog against the Rams on Sunday
