The Cleveland Browns will be without their top two quarterbacks, Johnny Manziel and Brian Hoyer, for the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday. Replacing them atop the depth chart will be practice squad promotee Connor Shaw and free agent-signee Tyler Thigpen.
It’s an unfortunate scenario for the Browns and will be the fifth straight year in which their third-string QB will be starting their final game. Several reports have indicated that the organization has not thrown in the towel on Manziel, but that veteran Hoyer is all but certain to leave via free-agency.
In the meantime, Cleveland will head into this week with Shaw, an undrafted rookie, at the helm. In very limited preseason snaps, and against fellow practice squad players and current free agents, Shaw did post some good numbers.
He went 8-10 passing for 123 yds and 1 TD for an NFL preseason-best 151.3 QB rating and those two incompletions were the result of drops.
How those preseason numbers will translate to Sunday's game versus a Baltimore team still battling for a playoff spot though, is anyone’s guess.
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