Browns starting veteran QB Joe Flacco vs. Rams

The Cleveland Browns (7-4) announced Friday that veteran quarterback Joe Flacco will get the start under center in the Week 13 road matchup against the Los Angeles Rams (5-6) this Sunday.

Flacco, 38, has yet to play in the NFL this season. He last suited up in five games (four starts) for the New York Jets in 2022. The Browns signed Flacco to the practice squad on Nov. 20 amid the season-ending shoulder injury to Deshaun Watson. Despite being in the building for just over a week, Flacco will receive the start in place of rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who is out for Sunday’s game with a concussion.

“He’s an elite arm, there’s no question,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said of Flacco this week, via the team’s website. “If you put it on a scale of one to five, I’d say he’s a five. His ball flight, his velocity on the ball at every level of the field is very impressive. But guys got excited. He threw some balls against the scout team last week, and guys in the back were kind of fired up.”

Joe Flacco gets another shot in NFL after long career

Over the course of his 15-year career, Flacco has started 180 games, going 99-81. The bulk of his career came with the Baltimore Ravens, whom he spent 11 seasons with, winning a Super Bowl in 2012. The 2008 first-round pick is fourth on the active all-time passing yards list with 42,320, to go along with 232 touchdowns and 147 interceptions on 61.6% passing.

In his brief time in Cleveland, Flacco’s new teammates have already raved about his ability to spin it.

“He throws a very pretty ball,” star receiver Amari Cooper said. “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.”

Flacco is notably the fourth quarterback to start for the Browns this season, joining Watson, Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker. He also becomes the eighth different quarterback to start in the Kevin Stefanski era and the 37th for the franchise since 1999.