The Browns did not name a starting quarterback yet for Sunday's home game against the Jaguars.
"Both guys practiced this week," HC Kevin Stefanski said. "Both guys practiced well, and I have faith in both guys, but not going to name a starter."
QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson was not listed on the game status report for Sunday, and Stefanski said that he cleared the concussion protocol.
Thompson-Robinson first suffered a concussion late in the third quarter against the Broncos in Week 12. Thompson-Robinson missed the week of practices out in Los Angeles as he went through the concussion protocol. He did not play in Week 13 against the Rams.
He returned to practice this week and was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. OC Alex Van Pelt said on Thursday that Thompson-Robinson has been in practice with the team.
"There's different levels of that protocol," Van Pelt said. "So, right now he's available for work. So, he's getting work out on the field, getting reps and again, whatever he has to do at the end of the week to get a green light, we'll see, but that's what he's doing. He's not off the field right now. He's with us."
Stefanski has seen a high level of growth from Thompson-Robinson over the course of his rookie season. He started his first game in Week 4 against the Ravens after QB Deshaun Watson was ruled out pregame. He was in for one play in Week 8 against the Seahawks on a package. Then, Thompson-Robinson was named the starter after Watson was ruled out for the remainder of the season. He led the Browns to a win over the Steelers in Week 11, and then was injured in the third quarter against the Broncos in Week 12.
Depending on the decision of who will start on Sunday between Thompson-Robinson and Joe Flacco, the other will serve as the backup quarterback, Stefanski said.
Flacco took reps throughout the week of practice, continuing to grow comfortable in the Browns' offense and the system. Flacco could earn his first start at home in Cleveland Browns Stadium, after he started their Week 13 matchup against the Rams. Flacco said that each week has helped him grow more comfortable, meeting with individual players and getting more of a feel for the little details.
When Flacco reflected on his first game with the Browns, he noted how it wasn't a very physical game for him – which he credited to the job their offensive line did. There were moments where he threw the ball away, but he also saw times where he could have moved and dragged the play out more. There were also a couple of plays where the little details were missing. He turned his focus throughout the week to making those improvements.
Yet, with how Flacco operates in the play action, as well as with his hand position on the ball and the nuances at quarterback, he appeared comfortable stepping into his first game just 14 days after signing to the Browns practice squad.
"I think how I do it, it comes back naturally for the most part," Flacco said. "You don't realize how much of that stuff is also relying on the back and the line, firing off in the back, rolling over and making sure that he's as wide as he needs to be or as tight as he needs to be. And then obviously with each different coaching staff, they have little different nuances on how they do those things and how it sets up this play versus that play. So, like I said, the way I've done it, yeah, it comes back pretty naturally, but there's always a little bit of different ways that coaches coach it that I need to get up to speed a little bit on."
If Flacco earns the start at quarterback in Cleveland Browns Stadium, while it will be his first in a Browns' jersey, it's not his first time playing in the stadium. Last season, he led the Jets to a 31-30 victory over the Browns in Week 2. Yet, there were many other times throughout his career he's played in Cleveland – particularly his rookie season when he was with the Ravens.
"It's not an indoor stadium. It's old school," Flacco said. "It's a grass field, outdoors, you feel the city of Cleveland. You usually have some kind of weather, so you know where you are. That's the way you like it. You smell the grass. It just feels like football. […] It's like when you can go out there and smell the grass and feel like it's football weather and that's the time of year we're in. We're in December and we're in Cleveland and it should be a lot of fun."
