ProFootballDoc: Browns Welcome Joe Flacco As Their Starting QB; Eagles, Cowboys Vying For Shaquille Not Darius Leonard And There's A Big Difference

The quarterback turnstile for the Cleveland Browns continues this week because rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson is in the concussion protocol and has missed the first two days of practice in preparation for Sunday's game at the Los Angeles Rams.

The Browns haven't ruled out Thompson Robinson. And haven't, as of this writing, officially said Joe Flacco is starting.

But OutKick contributor Dr. David Chao, who served 17 years as the San Diego Chargers team doctor, knows how this goes: DTR is sitting. And Flacco is the starter against the Rams.

Joe Flacco looks like he's going to go from spectator to player on Sunday. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Browns Backup Joe Flacco Should Be Ready

"I'll tell you why it will be Joe Flacco this week," Dr. Chao said. "No. 1, around the league, it's a 22 percent chance that a player plays the following week after a concussion. This is the last couple of years. So it's small."

The percentages are definitely against Thompson-Robinson clearing the protocol.

And now we come to the understanding not all players are the same even when they have the same injury with the same recovery.

"If this is Justin Herbert and he clears concussion protocol on a Saturday, he can play," Dr. Chao said. "But what happened last time DTR didn't have a week of practice?"

Thompson-Robinson didn't get the full week of practice prior to starting against the Ravens because much of the repetitions went to Deshaun Watson prior to the game Oct. 1. When the week's work was mostly done by Friday afternoon, Watson, nursing what we later found out was a rotator cuff injury, said he'd be ready to play.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson took a hit from Baron Browning on Sunday. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)

Browns Thompson-Robinson Remains In Protocol

But that Sunday morning, Watson and the club decided he wasn't really able to go. Thompson-Robinson stepped in as the starter and struggled. He completed 19 of 36 passes for 121 yards and 3 interceptions.

It was a different story when DTR got all the practice repetitions prior to the Nov. 19 start against Pittsburgh. He played better, although he still threw one interception.

He was even better still in that he threw a TD pass and avoided any turnovers in his third start, which came Sunday against Denver (again, with the full week of practice). But he was bloodied after a hit and left the game with the concussion.

So, without taking a practice snap on Wednesday and Thursday, it looks bleak.

"They're not going there, even if he gets cleared," Dr. Chao said. "So he's not starting. It will be Joe Flacco. That has to with only 22 percent chance he can play, but even if he clears, you're really going to put him out there?

The Browns, by the way, are quite beat up with 17 players on the injury report this week. One of those is wide receiver Amari Cooper who has been nursing a ribs injury.

"Cooper's pretty tough, I would lean toward him trying to play through if he can," Dr, Chao said.

Shaquille Leonard and Eric Johnson II wave good-bye to Panthers after a win. (Photo by Kara Durrette/Getty Images)

Eagles, Cowboys Court Shaquille Leonard

Other injuries and situations to consider:

Free agent Shaquille Leonard (back): He was waived by the Indianapolis Colts last week, visited the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday and spent Wednesday with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Barring another team deciding at the last minute they want to make a press for Leonard, he'll make a decision on either Dallas or Philly over the weekend.

But whoever gets the former three-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl player, Dr. Chao would be advising them to understand what they're getting: Shaquille Leonard, not Darius Leonard as he formerly went by.

Darius Leonard, you see, was the All-Pro linebacker for the Colts from 2018 to 2021. But Shaquille -- which is Leonard's actual middle name -- told reporters that's how he wished to be called in 2022. And that coincides with the player soon needing two surgeries for a vertebral disc bulge that limited him to only one start that season.

This season Leonard started nine games but his playing time suffered significantly in-game as coaches took him out in certain situations.

"Shaq Leonard ain't the same guy," Dr. Chao said. "We've been on it since the preseason, saying he's not going to be the same sideline to sideline linebacker he was before based on the two back surgeries."

The fact Leonard required two surgeries -- one in June of 2022 and then another in November of 2022 -- was a signal something was amiss.

"Is he a little better now than he was ? Yes," Dr. Chao said. "But he doesn't have that speed and quickness and agility that he had. That's why the Colts released him. I just don't think he's Darius Leonard anymore.

"Darius Leonard was a superstar."

INDIANAPOLIS - Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles walks off the field after a win over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 20, 2022. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Lane Johnson Playing But Needs Monitoring

Eagles Lane Johnson (groin): It raised eyebrows when Lane Johnson was suddenly added to the Eagles injury report Sunday morning, taken for an MRI on his groin, and then inactive that evening against Buffalo.

Johnson was limited in practice on Wednesday but had no setbacks and then practiced full on Thursday. He's said he expects to play on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

"Look, I'm glad the MRI didn't show anything structural and when injuries pop up out of nowhere, they're usually not structural," Dr. Chao said. "But with the pregame MRI and on-field workout, I went hard to say that's not a workout to see if he can play today, that's a rehab workout for next week."

And here's the issue: The kickout for a tackle is hard on both groins, one for extension and the other for toque.

"Definitely a spot to watch this week in the big game," Dr. Chao said.

Just A Flesh Wound For Tua

Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa (shark bite): Fine, it wasn't a shark bite, but that's the story Tagovailoa joked he might tell his son Ace some day because that gash, suffered in the Friday victory over the Jets, looked nasty.

“I think it’ll be a great story for Ace when he grows up," Tagovailoa said. "I saved three people in the ocean and I got bit by a shark …  500-pound shark, I killed it."

The gash required an unknown number of stitches.

"It has zero affect on him for several reasons," Dr. Chao said. "Yes, it could be a little bit sore and could tug a little bit. But he's left handed. That's on his right arm."

So, as they say on Monty Python: Just a flesh wound.

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