Thanks to injuries to Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel, the South Carolina product will jump off the practice squad and into the fire, head coach Mike Pettine announced Friday (via 92.3 The Fan's Daryl Ruiter):
Shaw, who completed 63.4 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,447 yards and 24 touchdowns to one interception with the Gamecocks last season, has spent all week getting first-team reps in practice to prepare for Sunday.
In anticipation of Shaw starting, Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will tailor Cleveland's attack around its new quarterback's skill set, as Ruiter and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com tweeted:
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler had thoughts from Pettine and Shaw on the QB's start:
"You're starting an undrafted rookie quarterback -- I don't think we're going to look to go down there and win one 41-38," Pettine said. "We need to be along the lines of 3-2."
"I'm just going to go play," said Shaw, who signed with the Browns out of South Carolina. "With my capability and my style of play, nothing's going to change. I'm not in garnet and black anymore; I'm in white and brown and orange."This latest shuffling is a small sampling of a larger trend in Cleveland, as Joe Reedy of Fox Sports Ohio notes:
Shaw will look to direct a road victory against an AFC North opponent so that the Browns can finish .500 on the year.
The Browns put up a fight against Baltimore in Week 3, losing 23-21, but they now find themselves in the spoiler role with an eye on the future.
