The Cleveland Browns will get an in-depth look at their quarterback depth chart as the club wraps up the 2024 campaign on Saturday. In the regular-season finale, Cleveland is slated to start veteran Bailey Zappe at quarterback, according to the Associated Press. While Zappe will get the nod out of the gate, head coach Kevin Stefanski noted previously that both Zappe and fellow signal-caller Dorian Thompson-Robinson could play in Week 18, and NFL Media notes that this plan still appears to be intact. So, it could simply be Zappe getting the first crack while Thompson-Robinson follows up.
Meanwhile, Jameis Winston, who has started seven games this season, is expected to be the third-string quarterback.
Zappe, 25, signed with the Browns active roster in late October in the aftermath of Deshaun Watson suffering a season-ending Achilles injury. Before that, he was working on the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs, latching on with the defending champions at the end of the summer following his release from the New England Patriots.
Zappe entered the league as a fourth-round draft choice of the Patriots in 2022 out of Western Kentucky and was able to get some starting experience over his tenure. In all, he’s started eight games in his career, owning a 4-4 record. In 14 total appearances, Zappe has tallied 2,053 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions while completing 63.2% of his throws.
Once he officially gets the starting nod in Saturday’s matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, Zappe will be the 40th Browns starting quarterback since 1999.
For the Browns, starting Zappe and possibly going with the tandem quarterback attack with Thompson-Robinson on Saturday could be two-fold. First, the team could merely be evaluating the position group as it enters an offseason where they are likely to add to the room in some form or fashion. Knowing the capabilities of both Zappe and Thompson-Robinon (who has started five games for the club over the last two seasons) could give them a leg-up in the evaluation process.
Second, the Browns are still in play to earn the No. 1 overall pick at the 2025 NFL Draft but are currently slotted with the No. 3 pick. For them to keep that standing and possibly move up, they’d need to lose, so muddling the quarterback waters by playing both Zappe and Thompson-Robinson could help in that regard as well.
Meanwhile, this could further help Cleveland’s Week 18 opponent in the Baltimore Ravens, who are already over a two-touchdown favorite in this matchup. A win on Saturday would secure Baltimore the No. 3 seed in the AFC and the AFC North title.
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