The Cleveland Browns have officially clinched a spot in the postseason after their big win over the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. Quarterback Joe Flacco has been playing light out and has the Browns’ offense rolling at the right time at the end of the regular season. However, the team has added a veteran quarterback to the active roster just one day after the big win.
BREAKING: Veteran quarterback Jeff Driskel is signing to the #Browns active 53-man roster, his agent Harold C. Lewis of @NSAFootball tells @_MLFootball.
The 30-year old Driskel was on the #Cardinals practice squad and will now back up Joe Flacco. pic.twitter.com/EbtrejZx0r
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 29, 2023
Jeff Driskel
Cleveland has signed veteran quarterback Jeff Driskel to the active roster to backup Flacco. The 30-year old player was on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad this season, and now will be on the active roster for the Browns. Cleveland has had several big-time injuries this season, including season-ending injuries to quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. This move was likely made just in case the 38-year-old Flacco were to go down with an injury amid the team’s playoff run.
Driskel has been all around the league for teams like the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, and the Houston Texans. He has not been on an active roster since 2022 with the Texans, where he went for 108 passing yards and a touchdown in seven games played. Over his career since entering the league in 2018, the veteran has amounted to 2,228 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
Cleveland Browns Offense
While Flacco has cemented himself as the starting quarterback in Cleveland, the team looks like they are playing it safe if he were to go down with a devastating injury. Driskel has been a solid backup option throughout his career, and he could blend in well with the Browns’ offense. The team is performing at a new level with Flacco, and adding another veteran as a backup could be the team’s saving grace if something detrimental were to happen.
Cleveland is now 11-5 and in second place in the highly competitive AFC North. With a spot already clinched in the playoffs, the Browns still have a chance to take the division crown from the Baltimore Ravens if they were to lose out their last two games of the regular season. Will Joe Flacco continue to prove that he is still playing at an elite level, or will the Cleveland offense suddenly come to a standstill in the postseason?
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