Browns announce QB decision for Week 18

Make it four starting quarterbacks for the Browns this season, marking a second straight slate in which that rarely reached number will be in the equation for Cleveland. Bailey Zappe will take over in Week 18, according to The Associated Press’ Tom Withers.

Zappe will replace Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has struggled since replacing Jameis Winston. Although Winston suited up in Week 17, he did not play. The Browns’ draft standing, No. 3 overall, is worth reminding, as the team is expected to retain Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry. With the two power brokers not needing to make moves to preserve their jobs (at least, that is not the expectation), a Zappe-over-Winston choice would make more sense. For what it’s worth, Winston has practiced in a limited capacity due to a shoulder injury.

Stefanski said Zappe and Thompson-Robinson will play against the Ravens, up to 20-point favorites in the teams’ Week 18 rematch. Cleveland upended Baltimore during Winston’s first start after Deshaun Watson‘s injury. The Browns benched Winston after a turnover-heavy Week 15 showing, but Thompson-Robinson has not played well. Thompson-Robinson has put together a 1-10 TD-INT ratio for his career, which is next to impossible in this passer-friendly era. The 2023 fifth-round pick has thrown six picks and no TD passes this season.

Zappe will be the 40th starting quarterback since the Browns’ 1999 reboot, as Withers notes. He finished last season as the Patriots’ starter, replacing a declining Mac Jones. Zappe has made eight career starts, going 4-4 in those games. The Browns initially signed Zappe off the Chiefs’ practice squad following Watson’s October Achilles tear. Cleveland then waived Zappe and re-signed him not long after.

A 2022 fourth-round pick who broke Joe Burrow‘s Division I-FBS touchdown pass record by firing 61 in Western Kentucky’s pass-happy offense in 2021, Zappe did not make the Patriots’ 53-man roster this season. That led him to Kansas City’s practice squad. He is not under contract in Cleveland beyond this season, but this matchup with Baltimore could help his cause. However, after the season, the Browns will look elsewhere for a player to be a viable option as a Watson replacement — perhaps in Round 1.

One of four 3-13 teams entering the season finale, the Browns sit behind the Patriots and Titans for the top pick. The Pats host a Bills team with nothing to play for, while the Titans host a Texans team locked into the AFC’s No. 4 seed. With the Ravens gunning for the AFC’s No. 3 spot via the AFC North title, the Browns have the best chance to lose among this trio. The cards look to be breaking Cleveland’s way, even though this was certainly not where this year’s team was expected to be at the season’s outset. The Browns will at least have a high pick when they return to the first round — after three years of missing out due to the Watson trade.