BEREA, Ohio — Joe Flacco will sit out the regular-season finale at Cincinnati — along with some other regulars — to rest for the playoffs and Cleveland will go with Jeff Driskel, a franchise-record fifth quarterback to start for the team this season.
Coach Kevin Stefanski said the Browns have earned the right to rest players after clinching a wild-card berth.
He intends to sit some prominent starters on Sunday when the Browns (11-5) play what has become a mostly meaningless game against the Bengals (8-8), who already have been eliminated from postseason contention.
Stefanski wasn't specific about his plans, but he did reveal that Flacco, who has gone 4-1 as a starter and thrown for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns since being signed on Nov. 20, will not play.
Driskel was signed to the active roster off Arizona's practice squad last week. Cleveland needed another QB after rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson sustained a season-ending hip injury against Houston on Dec. 24.
The Browns have spent the past three months juggling quarterbacks both before and after Deshaun Watson went out with a season-ending shoulder injury. P.J. Walker and Thompson-Robinson both made starts before Cleveland signed the 38-year-old Flacco.
Stefanski said Walker will back up Driskel, who has made 11 career starts for Cincinnati (5), Detroit (3), Denver (1) and Houston (2).
More Browns coverage:
- Cleveland Browns legend Frank Ryan, who QB'd team to its last NFL championship, dies at 87
- Cleveland Browns may rest QB Joe Flacco, other starters for finale vs. Cincinnati Bengals with playoffs clinched
- The Cleveland Browns are locked in as the AFC's No. 5 seed in the NFL playoffs. Here's who they could play in the wild-card round.