Both the 7-5 Browns and 8-4 Jaguars — embroiled in heated battles for a playoff spot in the AFC — will keep each other guessing on their starting quarterback until 90 minutes before their clash at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson got the guessing game started by stating Friday morning that he’d “probably” wait until game time to determine if Trevor Lawrence is healed enough from his high ankle sprain to face the Browns.
We’ll see,” Pederson said Friday. “He moved around a little bit yesterday, see how he does today. Kind of base it on medical staff, how Trevor feels, and if he can go or not.
By all accounts, Lawrence moved around better on Friday than he did on Thursday, and the Jaguars team beat writer, Demetrius Harvey, put his chances of playing at 80/20.
By early afternoon, Kevin Stefanski got in on the act, stating “not going to name a starter” even though Joe Flacco took all the first-team reps ahead of Dorian Thompson-Robinson in practice and is poised to make his second straight start.
So why is he keeping it under wraps even though all signs point to Flacco
“You don’t have to, I guess is probably the best way of putting it,” Stefanski said. “Both guys practiced this week. Both guys practiced well. I’ve got faith in both guys.
By Friday afternoon, Thompson-Robinson was cleared from the concussion protocol that kept him out of last week’s 36-19 loss to the Rams, and was actually in play to be active for Sunday’s game. The problem is, he took the second-team reps all week while Flacco ran the show.
But Stefanski is still engaging in some gamesmanship to gain any shred of competitive advantage in this tight AFC race. The Browns are currently the No. 5 seed out of seven spots, and the Jaguars, coming of their crushing 34-31 overtime loss to the now 6-6 Bengals, are the No. 4 seed.
Stefanski is so intend on keeping it under wraps that he didn’t announce anything to the team.
“I think we’ll all know when the ball kicks off,” he said.
Even though everything’s coming up Flacco, Stefanski praised Thompson-Robinson, who’s gone 1-2 in his three starts, including losses to Baltimore and Denver, and a victory over the Steelers.
“He continues to ascend,” Stefanski said. “Young player. I think he’s gotten better from the moment he stepped foot on campus. Just understanding this game, this system operating in the huddle, operating at the line of scrimmage. I thought you’ve seen him take significant steps from the spring — from his first start to his last start — I think he’s taken significant steps.
