![\"Jeff](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1891012031-3-e1704912288998.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=780\")
<\/p>\nThe\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0demoted quarterback\u00a0PJ Walker\u00a0this week and\u00a0Jeff Driskel\u00a0will serve as the primary backup to\u00a0Joe Flacco\u00a0going forward.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Driskel was\u00a0signed ahead of the final game\u00a0of the regular season. He drew the start against the\u00a0Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns were playing without many of their starters and Driskel struggled for the majority of the 31-14 loss. He finished the game 13-of-26 for 166 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t pretty but Driskel did enough to convince the Browns to push him above Walker on the depth chart.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Jeff Driskel] our backup going forward,\u201d\u00a0Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said\u00a0on Wednesday, January 10.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a rollercoaster season for Walker. The Browns signed him before the start of the year to the practice squad. He saw some time as the starter during\u00a0Deshaun Watson\u2019s\u00a0first absence from the team\u00a0with a shoulder injury. Walker started a pair of games, going 1-1. He also played the majority of a third contest against the\u00a0Indianapolis Colts, which the Browns won.<\/p>\n
However, turnovers were Walker\u2019s weakness. He tossed 5 interceptions to just 1 touchdown and also lost a handful of fumbles. If the worst-case scenario arises and Flacco gets injured, his carelessness with the ball could doom the Browns.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1915486715-e1704912487222.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=782\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Browns signed Driskel off the\u00a0Arizona Cardinals\u2018 practice squad. They liked the 30-year-old passer for a variety of reasons, including his familiarity with a system similar to the Browns. Drew Petzing is the offensive coordinator in Arizona. He previously served under Kevin Stefanski in Clevland as the quarterbacks coach. Driskel also played under Van Pelt with the Bengals.<\/p>\n
Driskel is athletic and can run some of the packages the Browns had in place for\u00a0Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was lost for the season with a\u00a0hip injury. He ran his 40-yard dash at the combine in 4.56 seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cJeff\u2019s a guy that has a lot of athleticism. He\u2019s a bigger guy. He\u2019s got a strong arm,\u201d\u00a0Van Pely said\u00a0on January 4. \u201cAnd I\u2019m very familiar with Jeff from our time together in Cincinnati, and I think with Dorian (Thompson-Robinson) being moved IR it gives us a chance to bring another athletic body in that could fill some of the role that Dorian played. So, it\u2019ll be good to get him in. He has familiarity with the system, obviously, coming from Arizona and the familiarity from the Cinci days.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Browns will now roll into their Wild Card matchup against the\u00a0Houston Texans on Saturday with two QBs who were not on the roster in early November.\u00a0It\u2019s the latest iteration of the quarterback shuffle for the Browns. The team ran out five different starters during the regular season but still managed to record an 11-6 record.<\/p>\n
![\"Cleveland](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1890897747-1-e1704912632137.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=782\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe hope for the Browns is that Driskel will not have to see meaningful snaps in the postseason. Flacco has been a game-changer for the Browns and has thrived in Cleveland. He\u2019s 4-1 as the starter and has passed for over 300 yards in four straight games.<\/p>\n
Flacco has also made his mark in the postseason. He has a Super Bowl \u2014 and Super Bowl MVP \u2014 on his resume. Flacco also has the second most playoff wins on the road for a quarterback in NFL history, behind only Tom Brady.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re talking about Joe\u2019s career, he\u2019s obviously done this at a high level in the biggest game. I think the confidence comes from demonstrated ability,\u201d\u00a0Stefanski said\u00a0on Wednesday, January 10. \u201cAnd with Joe, he\u2019s done it in these big games. But more than that, I think his teammates see how he works on a daily basis. I think they see him out there on the practice field, in the meeting rooms, and they trust in his preparation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flacco and the Browns are a 1.5-point road favorite against the Texans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0demoted quarterback\u00a0PJ Walker\u00a0this week and\u00a0Jeff Driskel\u00a0will serve as the primary backup to\u00a0Joe Flacco\u00a0going forward. Driskel was\u00a0signed ahead of the final game\u00a0of the regular season. He drew… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79338\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}