Joe Flacco is officially signed by the Browns; will the veteran take Cleveland to the postseason?
ESPN: Browns head coach ready to face who so ever that comes to his way the sq….
The 53-man roster of the Browns now includes the Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
On gameday, Flacco—who had been officially a part of Cleveland’s practice squad—was promoted to quarterback. But Flacco has now agreed to a one-year contract to join the 53-man roster of the Browns, per agent Joe Linta and the organization itself. Flacco may become only the third quarterback in franchise history (since 1999) to start a playoff game if he can somehow push the injured Browns into January.
Since being traded by the Baltimore Ravens to the Denver Broncos in 2019, Flacco has been all over the NFL. Along with his year in Denver, Flacco spent portions of three seasons as a starting quarterback with the New York Jets and briefly played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021.
Before Cleveland called, it was not expected that Flacco would play in the NFL in 2023 at all. Before signing Flacco, the Browns had already gone through three quarterbacks, including starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, who will miss the entire season with a catastrophic shoulder injury.
Week 13 saw Flacco start Cleveland’s road defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, but last week’s thrilling 31-27 victory over the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars put the Browns back in the win column. Cleveland improved to 8-5 as the former MVP of the Super Bowl passed for 311 yards and three scores against a strong defense.
Browns’ resilience in the face of harm
The Browns have managed to win despite losing a number of important players to injuries over the season. As we begin week 15, they are the #5 seed in the AFC.
Apart from Watson (who featured in just six games this season), Cleveland has been missing offensive lineman Jack Conklin and running back Nick Chubb since the second week of the season. Lineman Jedrick Wills and safety Grant Delpit are presently on injured reserve. Due to a shoulder ailment, star cornerback Denzel Ward hasn’t participated in any games for about a month.
Despite this, Cleveland’s #1-ranked total defense gives them an 88 percent chance to qualify for the postseason. It’s anyone’s guess as to how far the 38-year-old Flacco’s Super Bowl winning experience will carry the Browns if they manage to make it there.
