BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – On Monday Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told everyone not to worry about Joe Flacco's roster status.
Well, worry no more.
Here's our top Brownie Bites from Thursday.
Freshly signed Flacco – Flacco was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad Thursday ending whatever drama various members of the national media tried to concoct about his status following a pair of starts with the Browns. For those concerned Flacco could've been poached, the 38-year-old is unaware if anyone came calling the last two weeks but he made it clear he wasn't interested in leaving Cleveland. "I wouldn't have went though anyway," Flacco said. "It's been great here." Flacco is signed through the end of the season but would like to continue his career in 2024. "I know I want to play," Flacco said. "So me wanting to play is not in question." ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Flacco can earn an additional $4.05 million in incentives - $75,000 per regular season win, $250,000 for a Wild Card win, $500,000 for divisional, $1 million for the AFC championship and $2 million for a Super Bowl victory. From Flacco's perspective, money was never a problem. "No, I don't think so," Flacco said. "I mean, listen, I'm not aware of any of that stuff. I kind of leave it up to Joe, my agent, and he brushes over it with me real quick and I come up and sign it." In two starts for the Browns, Flacco has thrown for 565 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions since being signed to the practice squad on November 20. "He's fresh as a daisy right now and feeling great and there aren't many players in the league right now that are feeling great at this time of the year," offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said.
Feelin' his pain – Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz understands Myles Garrett's beef with the officials. "I feel his frustration because so much of what we do is just trying to get Myles one on one," Schwartz said. "And when you can get one on one and you get held and doesn't get called and things like that can be a frustrating thing for a player. It can be a frustrating thing for a play caller, but that's what those guys deal with." Schwartz praised Garrett for not allowing the no calls to negatively affect his play against the Jaguars. "I would say this, particularly the last drive of that game, I don't know if I've ever seen him rush so well," Schwartz said. "It didn't translate to a sack until the two-point play, but his win percentage, probably the last two drives was unbelievable. It was really inspiring to watch, and you could tell he was mad and he was everything else, but he was more determined and just kept on coming. I was really proud of that."
Hot Hopkins – Dustin Hopkins' hit from 55 yards Sunday against Jacksonville set a new franchise record for field goal makes in a season with 31 as well as makes from beyond 50 yards with his eighth. "He's really been the best kicker in football in my opinion. He really has," special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Bubba Ventrone said. "I mean, we play in conditions that are not easy. Our stadium's not easy to kick in. We play games outside and weather and he's done a great job. He's been the best in the league in my opinion." Hopkins continues to lead AFC kickers in Pro Bowl games voting.
Boomin' Bojorquez – Punter Corey Bojorquez was credited with a 72-yard punt last Sunday that completely flipped the field and pinned the Jaguars inside their own 20. "Great, great play in the game, changed the entire field position for us," Ventrone said. "We covered it well. We need to be a little bit more consistent with our hangs and our distances and he's done a great job." Bojorquez is averaging 50.3 yards per punt this season with 22 downed inside the 20. "He's got a powerful leg. He really does," Ventrone said. "His ability to hit for distances. It really is truly remarkable and we need to continue to improve on hitting with good hang and distance and direction is going to be important, especially in these next few games."
