It will be the battle of the backup quarterbacks when the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans take the field. With C.J. Stroud out, the Browns will get their former backup quarterback Case Keenum as he gets set to square up with Joe Flacco.
Sitting at 9-5 on the season, the Browns cannot clinch a playoff spot this weekend after the Buffalo Bills win on Saturday night, but they can retain a tight hold on the fifth seed in the AFC. This will allow them to clinch the spot at home on Thursday night against the New York Jets if they can take care of business against the Texans.
Can the Browns get the job done on the road and reel in their third straight game? If they can, they will all but have clinched their first postseason berth since the 2020 season.
Here are the 55 players on the Browns’ gameday roster after elevating safety Tanner McCalister and linebacker Charlie Thomas III from the practice squad for this matchup. As a reminder, gameday inactives will be released 90 minutes before gametime, but due to the injuries to numerous players, those are already sorting themselves out.
QB Joe Flacco
QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson
RB Jerome Ford
RB Kareem Hunt
RB Pierre Strong Jr.
WR Amari Cooper
WR Elijah Moore
WR Cedric Tillman
WR Marquise Goodwin
WR David Bell
WR James Proche II
TE David Njoku
TE Harrison Bryant
TE Jordan Akins
OT Geron Christian
OG Joel Bitonio
C Ethan Pocic
OG Wyatt Teller
OT James Hudson III
OT Leroy Watson IV
OG Michael Dunn
C Nick Harris
C Luke Wypler
DE Myles Garrett
DE Za'Darius Smith
DE Ogbo Okoronkwo
DE Alex Wright
DE Isaiah McGuire
DT Dalvin Tomlinson
DT Jordan Elliott
DT Shelby Harris
DT Siaki Ika
LB Anthony Walker Jr.
LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
LB Sione Takitaki
LB Tony Fields II
LB Matthew Adams
LB Mohamoud Diabate
LB Jordan Kunaszyk
LB Charlie Thomas III (practice squad elevation)
CB Denzel Ward
CB Greg Newsome II
CB Martin Emerson Jr.
CB Cameron Mitchell
CB Mike Ford
CB Kahlef Hailassie
S Juan Thornhill
S Ronnie Hickman Jr.
S D'Anthony Bell
S Duron Harmon
S Tanner McCalister (practice squad elevation)
K Dustin Hopkins
P Corey Bojorquez
LS Charley Huglett
