The Jets will see a familiar face Thursday night when they play the Browns.
Joe Flacco took over as Cleveland’s quarterback this month and is 3-1 as their starter.
Flacco played for the Jets in 2020, half of the 2021 season and last year, going 1-8 as the starter.
But he has the Browns rolling.
“Joe’s awesome,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “Obviously, you know that we all love and appreciate Joe and always felt very confident when he was on the football field. I have utmost respect for Joe especially, when you look at the last game of the year a year ago against Miami at Miami. To step on the field, I know we didn’t generate a lot of points, but under the circumstances, which I don’t think people truly understand the circumstances of that particular football game, he was outstanding.
“Joe is, I’ve said it before, he’s like a Ford pickup truck. You might not like it in the summer, but in the winter months, December, January, that son of a gun starts humming and he’s playing some really, really, really, good football.”
There is a question of why the Jets did not bring him in this season after Aaron Rodgers injured his Achilles.
Flacco led the Jets to a stunning victory against the Browns last season.
He had five touchdown passes and three interceptions last year.
With the Browns, Flacco has 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions and has eclipsed 300 yards in each of his last three starts.
QB Zach Wilson remains in the concussion protocol, and Saleh said he’s unsure if he will clear the protocol in time to play Thursday. If Wilson can’t go, Trevor Siemian would get his second start.
TE Jeremy Ruckert is in the concussion protocol and will not play Thursday.
RB Breece Hall had 12 catches for 96 yards in Sunday’s win over the Commanders.
He has become a much bigger part of the passing game lately. He has 34 catches in the past five games. He has 65 catches for 537 yards and three touchdowns this season.
“Credit Breece, he’s been putting in the work, he’s been chomping at the bit, to be more involved in any way he can, and it was good,” Saleh said. “I think I read that we gave him over 30 touches yesterday (32), which is awesome. … It’s deserved. He’s one of our best playmakers, and then we got to do everything we can to find a way to get him the football. Same thing with Garrett [Wilson], [Tyler] Conklin, Xavier Gipson, they’re all evolving in a way. With Breece, he’s a special talent, like I said, just trying to find ways to get him the ball as best we can.”
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