What It Means:

Stefanski said the Browns are “working through” the possibility of letting some starters rest this week after they locked into the No. 5 seed in the AFC. Flacco, who turns 39 later this month, is an obvious candidate to be limited or held out in Week 18. Amari Cooper (heel), Elijah Moore (concussion), David Njoku, Jerome Ford, and Kareem Hunt are other rest candidates this week. They would also all take a hit if Flacco is replaced by PJ Walker or Jeff Driskel.

Per numberFire's opponent-adjusted efficiency metrics for the season, the Bengals have the No. 27 total defense and No. 27 pass defense in the NFL, so the Browns' backups will have a plus matchup if called upon. Among the 36 quarterbacks with at least 200 dropbacks, Flacco ranks 18th in Passing Net Expected Points per attempt.