Joe Flacco Agrees to Browns Contract, Moved to Active Roster Ahead of Bears Game

After leaving Joe Flacco open to sign with the other 31 NFL teams by moving him to the practice squad following each of their previous two games, the Cleveland Browns have finally given the Super Bowl 47 MVP a contract to avoid that issue going forward.

Flacco's agents, JL Sports, announced on Thursday the veteran quarterback signed a one-year deal with the Browns ahead of this week's game against the Chicago Bears.

ESPN's Adam Schefter noted Flacco can earn up to $4.05 million in incentives as part of the deal:

In the wake of Deshaun Watson's season-ending shoulder injury, the Browns signed Flacco to their practice squad on Nov. 20. The 38-year-old had been a free agent since the end of the 2022 season after spending the previous three years with the New York Jets.

When Dorian Thompson-Robinson was unable to play in Week 13 against the Los Angeles Rams due to a concussion, Flacco was signed to the active roster and named the starter. He played well with 254 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a 36-19 loss.

The Browns moved Flacco back to their practice squad after the Rams game. Thompson-Robinson cleared concussion protocol and was back at practice last week, but head coach Kevin Stefanski declined to name a starter leading up to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Flacco was elevated to the active roster on Dec. 9, with P.J. Walker being waived to make room for him. He wound up getting the start, throwing for 311 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in a 31-27 win over Jacksonville.

Even though Stefanski said after the game Flacco would be the starter for the remainder of the season, the Browns once again moved him back to the practice squad on Monday.

League rules allow players on a practice squad to be signed to the active roster for another team, though the acquiring team can't be the previous squad's upcoming opponent unless it's at least six days before the game or 10 days if the original team is on a bye week.

It's somewhat surprising based on how Flacco has played in the past two weeks that no one, as far as we know, tried to sign him, especially given how many teams are playing without their starting quarterback.

The Browns will be happy to have Flacco for the rest of the season as they try to make the playoffs. They enter Week 15 as the No. 5 seed in the AFC with an 8-5 record.