There will be few teams in the league with more at stake in their Week 14 game than the Cleveland Browns. Their place in the standings has taken a bit of a hit over the past couple of weeks, as they have dropped their last two games after starting the season 7-3, but will be looking to rebound with a huge AFC matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. And thankfully for Cleveland, Amari Cooper won’t miss any time after being cleared to play on Saturday afternoon.
Browns Clear Cooper From Protocol, Activate Joe Flacco
#Browns star WR Amari Cooper, listed as questionable with a rib injury and a concussion, received his final clearance from the independent neurological consultant and is out of the concussion protocol, sources say.
He’ll play on Sunday vs the #Jaguars.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 9, 2023
Cooper suffered a concussion during the second quarter of the Week 13 loss to the Rams, and he never returned to the game. The Browns placed the wide receiver in concussion protocol immediately, and he did not participate in practice on Tuesday or Wednesday. But according to NFL insider Ian Rapaport, Cooper has been cleared for action and will play against the Jaguars.
Amari Cooper is far and away Cleveland’s leading receiver. His 799 yards are nearly 300 more than the next wide receiver on the roster, though he has only scored two touchdowns thus far.
But his presence will be needed for whoever it is that is under center for the Browns on Sunday. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has not yet said who the starting quarterback will be, and it will truly be a game-time decision. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has cleared concussion protocol himself after missing last week’s action, and Joe Flacco was activated off of the practice squad in order to be available as well.
Cleveland Has Plenty To Play For On Sunday
Browns elevated QB Joe Flacco from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday’s game vs. the Jaguars.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 9, 2023
According to the playoff projections and analysis by PFF this week, the Browns have the third-largest potential playoff odds swing of any team this weekend. Their odds at qualifying for the postseason currently sit at 57%, but would drop all the way down to 39% should they come up short. Should they beat Jacksonville, then their odds would boost up to 79% with four games to play.
The Jaguars are dealing with their own quarterback issues after Trevor Lawrence had a serious scare during last week’s Monday Night contest. He is listed as questionable this week after avoiding any season-ending ailments, and Jacksonville has signed Nathan Rourke off of the practice squad to provide depth for the game. CJ Bethard was a limited participant this week with a shoulder injury.
The Browns are the home team for the contest and will be favored by 3 points.
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